Return of the Wolf
by OrlithNightfire
Summary: 10 Doctor,Rose. The Doctor and Martha follow a disterbance in time and Space, They find Much more than the bargan for as those who seek to control time make themselves known. Can the Doctor stop it? or is he forbidden to do so, for if he stopped the event
1. Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting

KITG: Okay, this has been floating in my brain for a while now. But just to warn you it does have Martha in it, but as we don't know how she is going to be played as of yet it will not be in character.

Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who. Is owned by the beeb

A chance meeting

Abandoned hallways screamed their silent defiance to those that were invading it. Hadn't they already taken enough? Killing all those in the halls with their breath. Down these abandoned halls came the heavy echo of combat boots as around one of the corners came a military contingent. Two by two they marched, but with one lone figure in the centre. Weapons ready, masks in place as they scouted each living quarters for any signs of life. Next came the lone figure in the centre, clearly female from the way the uniform hugged the curves of her body. Her face obscured by a protective mask.

Following the lead figure came two more.

Wearing military outfits. All wore black vest jackets, and carried various military paraphernalia. Flare, torch, radio, ammo. They all had a gun ready in their hands as they travelled forward with caution. Grey t-shirts under the jacket. Black combat trousers and black combat boots. Each had the same insignia on the breast of their jackets. Hexagons all joining up to make a sort of "T" shape.

"Don't look like we're going to find anyone Ma'am" one of the men turned to the one in the centre.

"We are going to keep looking" came the sharp, authorative reply.

"Yes Ma'am"

They continued on through the structure, when a faint hissing could be heard before their radios blared to life in warning.

"Squad one! Gas forms detected in your area, get the hell out of there" A male voice full of concern.

"Right boys, you heard the Captain. Move!" The female ordered and they began to run down the hallways, as the blue gas seemed to seep and writhe behind them. Doors sealed as they ran in an attempt to contain whatever it was. But it just sought another way….

"Command to all squads, time bubble activated in 30 seconds" came through the radio ear pieces, the leader seemed to fumble, her heavy boots missing a step as she tried to reach the contact button.

"Squad one to Command, Sir you can't activate it. The bubble is unstable!" she shouted down the radio.

"I can do whatever I want" the commander replied.

"Sir, She's right. If you activate it now there is no telling what the consequences will be" the male voice from before that shouted warning.

"This is not a debate Captain, so you and your skirt can shut up! Begin activation of the time bubble"

"Time bubble activated in 5,4,3,2,1"

Time convulsed and screamed out of control, as the bubble burst, sending lances of time out in all directions. Shards passed through the structure, each place was different. For some, time sped forward, reducing them to dust in seconds. For others, time went back, rendering the halls into their base components.

In the aftermath Squad one stood, as the smoke cleared to reveal the blue gas that seemed suddelnly more menacing.

"Squad one to idiotic command" the female called in a voice full of scorn and revulsion for those that commanded her "Just in case you would like to know. Bubble did not contain…in fact it's made it worse. Gas is now spreading across the barrier." She clicked off not waiting to hear her Commander rant; she was more concerned with keeping her squad alive right now.

"Lets go boys, double time" The heavy foot falls sounded once more, but now with a faster pace. A desperate pace as the blue gas spread further than it had before, hiding the forms within, their red eyes moving back and forth as they searched for prey.

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Through the Space/time vortex the TARDIS travelled, a blue police telephone box that spun round and round, light flashing off the blue paint as it turned. The outwards appearance hid the vast interior, the inside, off set in time from the exterior. This was the ship of the gods, the chariot of fire…just without the fire.

This was the last space/time craft of a lost race. The last of that race travelled inside. To some he was known as John smith or the Emperor of Belgium. To others he was known as the Oncoming storm or the village idiot. But his name was known throughout the stars-The Doctor

"So where are we going today Doctor?" A dark skinned women asked.

"The TARDIS has registered some strange spatial disturbance in time, thought we might take a look" The Doctor replied, his long brown coat flying around him as he walked round the console of the TARDIS. Under the coat he wore a blue pinstriped suit, his brown hair was ruffled by excited hands. He looked to be in his early 30's but was in actual fact over 900 years old. He was a Time Lord. The last of the Time Lords.

"I'm not going to have to distract some guards by pouring banana angel delight over me again am I?" the dark skinned women asked, she looked young, maybe just over 23, hair up in a elaborate spiked design

"Oh come on Martha…it wasn't that bad..banana's are good" The Doctor gave his mega watt smile, but it seemed dimmer than it should be. Martha sort of knew the reason why. It was because of someone called Rose; he had lost her a few years ago he said.

"Sure Doctor" she replied in a sarcastic tone earning a wounded look on his part. Martha hung on to the side of the railings as the TARDIS made one of its customary rough landings. She followed the Doctor as he strode to the door and passed through.

The Doctor and Martha emerged into a bland room. Looked to be some kind of living quarters, but the mess indicated who ever it was had left in a hurry. White plastic chairs were overturned, their design almost 60's in style. Steel tables are covered in clothes or dropped objects. The Doctor did his customary poke around, trying to see if there was any indication why this had happened.

They walked out into the vast hallways, gleaming white and new in places, Yet eleswhere you could see other corridors because the dividers had turned to dust- The Doctor walked over to the missing wall, they looked to be of the flat packed kind, maybe Ikea. He ran the sonic screwdriver over the dust, frowning at the readout it gave.

"That can't be right…"

"What Doctor?" Martha came over to stand beside him as he looked at the dust.

"Says the particles have been accelerated through time. But why here? Why only this wall?" Martha looked around, seeing another gap in the wall, this time showing dark rock behind.

"Doctor look" The Doctor turned to where she was pointing seeing the rock and a puddle of some substance on the floor. He scanned the puddle, shiny black with a rainbow effect on top.

"Oil and some other petrochemicals, the plastic of the wall has been reduced to its core components…what is going on?" he got to his feet, brushing imaginary dust from his jacket.

They began to walk down the long white hallways, the grills under their feet emitting dull clangs as they walked. Here and there were objects that had been dropped in what appeared to be a mass exodus. Clothes, jewellery, a teddy bear. Martha bent down and picked it up, one eye was missing. The Teddy looked forlorn and lost; probably wanting to get back to the little girl it belonged to. The Doctor took the bear from Martha, looked at it a moment, then placed it into one of the pockets of his brown jacket. Martha tried not to laugh at the sight of the teddy bears head poking out of the Doctors right hand pocket, seeming to be enjoying the ride.

The scene was interrupted by a loud alarm that had started to blear down the hallways, red lights mounted in the ceiling began to whirl and flash in red to signify the danger. They looked around, trying to discern the reason when an automatic voice began to talk over the speaker system.

"Warning, Contamination detected. Warning Contamination detected. Evacuate the area. Bulk head doors closing." The Doctor looked back the way they had come seeing the bulkheads slowly closing, and behind it a blue gas began to creep up the hall.

"Um," the Doctor looked up the clear hallway as the doors ahead of them began to close then back at the gas that now seemed to be speeding towards them " I think we had better run"

The Doctor grabbed Martha's arm their feet pounding on the floor as they tried to escape the gas-The Doctor had no doubt that it would prove lethal. A head of him a bulkhead nearly closed, he got and image in his mind of a blond haired 19-year-old girl running from a Dalek, and being left behind. He would not let it happen again. As the gas began to pass his vision he yanked Martha before him and pushed her through the bulkhead, just before it closed.

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Martha felt as though the Doctor had yanked her arm from it's socket for a second before he pushed her to safety through the open bulkhead, but trapped himself on the other side. She was wheezing, the gas making her choke, it had a coppery tang to it- like breathing blood.

"Doctor!" Martha pounded on the door, he couldn't be dead. She turned as a two-armed people came round the corner.

"Come on miss. You can't stay here" one spoke, male voice muffled by the mask he wore.

"No, you have to help me. My friend the Doctor is trapped on the other side!"

"Then he's already dead" the same man replied, grasping her arm to drag her away. Martha kicked out and backed against the bulkhead.

"No! I'm not leaving him!"

"Why you little.." The man raised the butt of his gun to hit her with, but the next moment he was on the floor, a boot firmly planted on his chest.

"Nova….What do you think you are doing?" The female voice was cold and filled with malice, behind her were four more armed men.

"Nothing Ma'am, trying to get her out of here" he replied with some fear, but also revulsion.

"So that includes hitting her with the butt of your gun to save her life? I think not," the female stepped over him by putting weight on his chest, the man grunted before rolling to his feet.

"You can't stay here" the woman was now addressing her. The voice had changed to a calm and compassionate tone. The women looked her over, seeing he laboured breathing. "Did you inhale some of the gas?" Martha nodded. She tried to speak, to say that wasn't important, that the Doctor was stuck on the other side. But her voice came out as a croak.

The Women grasped the base of her mask and pulled it off, eliciting some gasps from the men behind her.

"Ma'am you can't…"

"Quiet, she needs it more than I do" the women was attractive, blonde hair cut short, brown eyes that seemed to regard with compassion. A strange contrast to the uniform she wore and the gun at her side. The women placed the mask over Martha's head- and Martha found she could breath more easily.

"Better?" Martha nodded "then we have to go" Martha took a step back and shook her head in a vehement no. Then the one beside Nova decided to talk.

"Ma'am she said she had a friend on the other side, we told her he was already dead." The woman looked back at Martha with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but they are right" but Martha shook her head again.

"Leave her Ma'am, she won't leave. Guess this Doctor means a lot to her" The blonde women seemed to still.

"Who?"

"The Doctor" Martha managed to croak out before she gave in to a coughing fit.

"Open the door" the blond women ordered with such finality

"But Ma'am.."

"Open the Door!"

"Bad Wolf you are not the commander" Nova snarled, the next instant he was against the wall with the blonde haired women's hand round his neck.

"You will give me your key card for this door, and then you are going to run away out of my sight!" her teeth bared almost like a wolf, Nova nodded handing her a key card before she let go. He scrambled to his feet and went a little way down the hall before turning back.

"You'll never get away with this Bad Wolf! The Commander will have your hide for it!" then he took to his heels and out of sight.

The Blonde women waked to the door, Martha guessed she was called Bad Wolf, or perhaps it was a military call sign. But she went to swipe the card but a hand on her arm stopped her. It was one of her men.

"You sure about this Ma'am, you haven't got a mask on, the Captain won't like it. And what Nova said about the Commander is right."

"Thanks for the concern, but the Commander doesn't scare me, and the Captain will understand." With a smile she swiped the card as the others pulled Martha back, and the Bad wolf disappeared into the blue smoke.

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The Doctor had been trying to open the door with the Sonic-Screwdriver as his respiratory bypass kicked in, but the door refused to budge. The blue gas made his skin tingle and his eyes burn as it swarmed around him. He felt was like it was trying to force itself down his throat, he gagged as he fell to his knees- as little a of the gas entered his lungs. It burned so much he nearly cried out, rolling onto his back-as the need to breath became all consuming.

"_At least Martha is safe" _He thought to himself. All he could now see was blue gas through the tears in his eyes, everything had become a blur. He felt consciousness leaving him, but just before he blacked out the blue gas swirled and parted. A blond haired woman was before him, he could not see her clearly, the tears in his eyes making her appear like a blur. She seemed to shake her head in exasperation before he felt her grip the back of his Jacket and suit. She began to drag him, she looked so familiar to him.

"Rose..?" he croaked out, before the blackness took him

TBC…..

KITG: Please R&R. see you in time :)


	2. Chapter 2: Bad Wolf Revealed

KITG: here we go, the next chapter. Would like to thank Flip who is beta'ing this fic for me. :)

Bad Wolf Revealed

Martha watched anxiously as the woman passed into the blue gas. It did not take long however for her to return dragging the Doctor by the scruff of his jacket behind her. Martha rushed over to kneel beside him as the woman let go to seal the door and then leaned against it as a coughing fit took hold of her.

"Ma'am!" one of the men hurried over concern plain in his voice. But she just batted him away with a wave of her hand.

"I'm fine" she gasped out between coughs, voice horse. "We need to get back to the base. You four bring him" she indicated the Doctor who was still out cold. The four men picked him up while Bad Wolf guided Martha down the hallways.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine if we act quick. We have an antidote to the gas"

"Thank you" Martha replied gratefully, shooting concerned glances at the Doctor

"What's your name?" Bad wolf asked.

"Martha, and that useless lump is the Doctor" Bad wolf smiled at Martha's comment.

"I doubt he's useless, annoying maybe" she coughed again, hand brought to her mouth, then moving the hand to hide the blood on the palm

"True" Martha laughed.

The hallways started sloping upwards towards the surface and they emerged from the fake light into a harsh, dead landscape. In the distance Martha could see a huge complex built into the side of a large mountain. The sky was gray with clouds now passing across it in a storm, though no wind could be felt. The clouds themselves glowed in ethereal colors and shimmered as if alive. There seemed to be little vegetation, and what there was seemed to be gasping in this air.

"Ma'am. The gas is spreading" one of the men indicated behind them. Martha gasped as the landscape slowly became enveloped in this blue gas.

"We haven't much time, we need to get past the shield before they bring it up." Bad Wolf replied. The Blue gas came ever forward, hugging to the curves of the land as rocks and plants disappeared from view. It was as if someone had dropped a blue silk sheet over the terrain, leaving irregular bumps where the rocks lay beneath. But every now and then Martha swore she saw dark shapes moving in the blue, flashes of darkness and red.

Martha turned back seeing before them was some creatures that looked like horses. There were two of them standing beside a small flat bed truck. Bad Wolf's men carried the Doctor to the truck, laying him in the back, Martha crawled in beside him and turned to see Bad wolf climbing upon one of the horses. Close up she could see,these horses had fangs and some mixture of fur and scales. Bad wolf appeared to lean forward and talk to the creature, but the sound was lost as the trucks engine fired to life.

They sped across the landscape towards the mountain, the horses easily keeping pace with the truck. Martha stared down at the serene face of the Doctor, brushing a bit of his hair from his forehead. Looking up once more she could see they were heading for a large hole in the side of a towering edifice, the huge metal door was just beginning to open, revealing a vast hanger complex.

They passed into the hanger, with the sound of the doors servo's reversing as they grappled with the bulk of the door lowering it back into position. The silence of the landscape was now gone amidst the cacophony of the hanger. The sound of a voice barking orders over the speaker system, the growls and tweets of the horse like creatures, the rumble of engines as forklifts went to and fro. Against the back wall she could see a motor pool in which trucks and jeeps were parked, the clang of metal rang out as mechanics worked on the vehicles.

Martha watched as Bad wolf's steed stopped beside the truck, in the clear light she saw he was black like obsidian. The scales amongst the thin fur glittered in the light. It growled then crooned like a fragile bird as she dismounted. Bad wolf walked to stand before it and it was then Martha noticed it had no bridal to control it. All it had for the rider was a saddle.

"Thank you Seperoth" Bad Wolf bowed to the creature that seemed to nod in acknowledgement.

"You are welcome Bad Wolf" the creatures voice deep and commanding yet light and lilting at the same time. The contrast implying it had great compassion but if angered, great rage.

"I will be back soon, I need to see my friends settled."

"Please return quickly" then the creature was being led away, looking at everyone else with veiled wariness.

"Come on Martha" Martha got down from the truck as the men once more picked up the Doctor; she led them down numerous hallways to what appeared to be living quarters. Bad Wolf opened a door to reveal a small room that was sparsely decorated. She indicted to the men to place the Doctor onto the bed, as they did she addressed one of the men.

"Wilkinson, go get the Captain" the one she had called Wilkinson saluted then walked from the room; turning to the others she said, "The rest of you are dismissed for the rest of the day"

"Thank you Ma'am" they all saluted and then left Martha and Bad Wolf alone.

Bad Wolf went over to a small cabinet against one wall and took out a vial of red liquid and some syringes. She stuck one of the syringes in the top of the glass bottle to transfer the liquid inside, then walked over to the Doctor. She was about to inject him when Martha stopped her.

"Wait, are you sure that won't hurt him?" Bad Wolf seemed to pause a moment. As if trying to decided something

"Why should it?"

"Well, I mean he might be allergic…" Martha tried to think of away to put it without saying he was alien.

"It's engineered to be safe for all humans" Bad wolf replied. Emphasizing the word 'Human'

"Okay, I need to tell you something. He's not human…" Martha waited for the shock and panic but received only calm acceptance.

"What is he?"

"I doubt you'll know them as he is the last but he has two hearts" Martha watched as Bad Wolf placed her head on his chest and seemed to linger, listening to his heart beasts. Then with a sigh she stood up.

"No, it won't harm him." Then she injected him, the quivering his body had been experiencing ceased, and his breathing became less laboured. "Right now you"

Martha was injected and then finally Bad Wolf injected herself. She packed up the supplies and turned to leave the room.

"Wait" Martha called. Bad wolf looked back over her shoulder. "Thank you"

"You are welcome. You should be safe here, but Martha," Her face looked deadly serious when she turned back "Do not tell anyone that your friend is alien. This institute does not take kindly to them. He would be dissected before he could blink. The Captain will be the only one you can trust"

Martha nodded and Bad wolf went to leave again but Martha stopped her once more.

"Is Bad wolf your name?" Bad wolf sighed then replied in a sad tone.

"It is now" then she was gone.

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He was sat at his desk when there was a knock on the door; he looked up to see one of Bad Wolf's squad. The guy was called Wilkinson if he remembered rightly.

"Sir, Bad Wolf requires you come to her quarters" Wilkinson relayed with a salute.

"What has she gone and done now? Sinclair hasn't got his hands on her again has he?" he saw Wilkinson wince.

"No sir, the Commander has not asked for a report as of yet. We found some survivors and the Bad Wolf has installed them in her quarters, she wants you to see them I believe."

"Very well Wilkinson, you are dismissed I shall make my way there immediately" the Captain rose from his chair and donned his black vest. He strode from the small office and down the corridors making his way to the quarters, passing several people including Nova.

"Oh your skirt is going to get it Captain" the man sneered.

"What are you blathering about now?" The Captain dismissed the sorrry excuse for a man as he passed.

"She impeded a rescue and struck a fellow officer, the Commander is not best pleased"

"Why you…" The Captain went to push the little weasel against the wall but stopped himself.

"Ah, ah Captain" Nova sneered pointing to the security camera.

"I'd watch yourself Nova, one of these days someone is not going to stop at a security camera to kill you." With that the Captain continued on, ignoring the growl from Nova.

He arrived at the quarters, seeing Bad Wolf standing outside, gazing into her room. He could tell from her posture that she was upset and worried. This part of the complex was partially deserted, so she had been relegated down here, well so had he, his room being next to hers. Neither of them was best liked by the Commander and his officers. Both wished they could return home.

"Hey sweetheart. You miss me?" he gave her a hug from behind.

"Same old Jack. Course I missed you. But we have a problem" she indicated the man on the bed.

"Who's the cute guy?"

"The cute guy would be the Doctor" she replied in a quiet tone, though they were quite safe from being overheard.

"What?" he looked closer, finally seeing him over the top of the covers. He recognized him from the pictures he had seen of Rose and him with queen Victoria. "Oh hell"

"Yeah, that's what I thought" Rose replied, brushing the blonde hair back from her eyes. "I need you too keep an eye on him for me untill we can get him out of here. It will only be a matter of time before Sinclair finds the TARDIS."

"Yeah, then all hell will break loose. But why do you want me to look after him?" Jack was confused. Rose had missed the Doctor so much after they had got separated three years ago.

"He thinks I'm gone and moved on Jack. He has Martha now. It would hurt him too much" Rose looked at the form of the unconscious Doctor, while Jack stood there with his jaw hanging open.

"What? Are you mad?" He exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Rose slammed her hand over his mouth. "She'll hear you"

"But Rose, he loved you, you know that" Jack was trying to make her see reason.

"Yes I know and that is why he mustn't know"

"You do realize that makes absolutely no sense" Jack replied.

"Think about it. I know what it feels like for an old companion to suddenly show up. Him and Martha have been together a while now by the looks of it. He will think he will have to choose and that's not fair on him."

"But it's not fair on you either!"

"Jack! I'm not the same anymore. I'm not the Rose Tyler he knew. She died and is listed among the dead back on earth in 2006. Leave it alone Jack, lets just get him better and out of here, we both know what Torchwood will do to him"

"I still think this is a mistake, you would be better off going with him. If nothing to get you away from Sinclair."

"He doesn't scare me" She replied turning away from Jack, he walked forward and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He may not scare you, but he sure as hell hurts you. The bruises and broken ribs from last time prove that. And I couldn't do a damn thing to help you" Jack banged his fist on the wall.

"It's not your fault Jack, neither of us can do anything to save ourselves." Rose fingered the dark collar at her neck, the red lights blinking on and off to show it was active.

Jack cupped Rose's face with his hand, marveling all over again at the courage of this 20th century girl who could stand so much. She gave him a smile, an echo of the one he used to know. She had not given a proper smile for such a long time.

"You are one amazing woman, you know that?"

"Hardly. I'm not amazing. Not anymore. I'm just trying to survive" she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Look, I'm going down to the hanger to check on Seperoth and his people"

"Be careful" Jack knew how the others treated the Aseroth. Such noble creatures captured and bound like the rest of them. Used as pack carriers and cannon fodder, only Rose treated them with the respect they deserved. And it was only Rose they trusted completely.

He watched her walk away down the corridors, not missing her emotion filled glance at the slumbering Time Lord. Her form screaming to rush in there and hug the Doctor until he woke and they had mad passionate love then and there….

Jack shook his head to try to get his mind out of smut mode, which was nigh on impossible; his mind could have at least included him in that mental scenario. But his heart ruled him where Rose was concerned, and he would never get between her and the Doctor. He strode into the room all smiles as he looked at Martha.

"Hello, I'm Captain Jack Harkness"..

TBC...

KITG: Yay! Jack is back on the scene. So What is he doing here? and more importantly what is Rose doing here? What will the Doctor do when he see's Rose? oooh so many cliffhanger oppitunites MWahahahahaa.

Thanks for reading . See you in time:)


	3. Chapter 2: Bad Wolf's keeper

Bad Wolf's keeper

Rose walked down the corridors heading back to the hanger, her mind in turmoil. She longed to be with the Doctor, to be there when he woke so he could see she was here in this reality.

The years had passed so slowly for her, it would be a blink of an eye in comparison to him. She had sat alone in the huge room in her father's mansion in the other reality, crying her eyes out over the Doctor. Then she had gone back to Torchwood and continued her life, but he had never been far from her mind. But she had to move on for the sake of her mother and her little brother Sean. And to think she had got here by….

Rose was interrupted from her nostalgic musings when the pained cry of an Aseroth reached her ears. She began to run, breaking out in the bright halogen lights of the hanger bay. There in one corner were the Aseroth pens, metal fences with some hay laid on the concrete floor. Around this were various cages in which were held all different colours and genders of Aseroth.

The reason for the cry soon became apparent as Rose saw one of the young Aseroth in the main pen. He was being tormented by Nova and his lackeys, she could see them pushing and hitting the young one. He chirped and growled in pain. Rose could hear him screaming for his mother, her link to the TARDIS as strong as ever. Even in the alternate reality alien languages were translated for her, but the voice had been dim. When she had returned to this reality she had loved to feel the connection strengthen once more.

Rose jumped over the pen fence and punched Nova hard. He went down like a sack of potatoes. Standing before the young one who was quivering on the floor, Rose could hear one of the female Aseroth calling out for her son; the animal was a striking brown with brown/green scales.

"You bitch! You broke my nose!" came a muffled shout from Nova, blood running between the fingers of the left hand covering his nose.

"Well Nova, it is a definite improvement" Rose sneered at him.

"Get her!" all the three men that had been with him ran at Rose, fists seeking retribution for their leader. But Rose was not the Bad Wolf for nothing here. She moved swiftly, bending and hitting back with full force of fist and foot, never moving position protecting the young Aseroth. A few managed to lay blows upon her but she ignored them for the moment, besides she had felt worse than they could ever inflict on her body.

The fight was soon over however, with the men looking far worse than she. Two unable to stand unaided as a result of her well placed kicks to the groin. Rose ignored them to look back at the young Aseroth.

"What is your name little one?"

"Zeinken" he replied in a quivering chirp.

"Well Zeinken, will you let me look you over then I can get you back to your mother".

"Of course, we all trust the Bad Wolf" Rose smiled at him and had quickly checked him out. He was missing a few scales to his violet hide, dark orange blood leaking from the wounds. She could also see the darker spots where bruises were starting to form. She got up and grabbed a first aid kit from the side of the pens and some clean water. She cleansed the wounds and bound a swollen foreleg.

Rose helped him to stand and led the way to the pen were his mother anxiously waited. Entering her pass code the door opened to Rose as she guided the young one in. As mother and child rubbed noses and heads against each other, Rose grabbed some hay from the pen and carried in to the cage. There was hay in he cage but barely enough, the young one would need a thick bed of it so he could heal. Rose sorted it all out and helped the young one get comfortable. She sat for a while stroking his head as he had placed it in her lap. When he fell asleep she gently got up as not to wake him.

"You have our thanks Bad Wolf" the mother bowed low to her.

"There is no need to bow to me. What is your name?" Rose asked, laying a hand on the Aseroth's flank.

"Umah"

"Then you and your son are quite welcome Umah. I apologise for my race" Rose bowed low to Umah.

"They are not your race bad Wolf. You surpass them" Rose watched as Umah lay beside her son, the strange response flittered round her head. She surpassed them?

Rose walked from the cage to see Seperoth, behind him was his son Arokh. She walked up and entered his pen. She wanted to be somewhere where she didn't have to pretend, did not have to guard herself every moment. Here was the only place she could do so.

Arokh came forward to rub his head against her, the large feathers that came out from behind his ears to frame his face on either side, tickling her. She giggled then stroked him. He then walked over to his friends, giving her and his father room to talk. Seperoth had now sat down in the corner of the cage, a large bed of hay beneath him.

"Come sit by me Bad Wolf, my friend" his voice deep and regal.

Rose smiled in relief, she lay against his flank, the warmth of his hide soothing her. She laid her head against the bottom of his long neck, hand stroking as she revelled in the soft, silky feel.

"What Umah said was true, you do surpass them"

"I'm just a normal person Seperoth" She buried her face in his fur, taking in the scent. She felt safe here, able to finally relax all her muscles instead of always being on the alert.

"What is wrong dear one? Your heart is exceptionally heavy tonight. Is it to do with the one you found in the fields? The one with two hearts?" Rose jerked against him in shock "Do not fear dear one, I will tell no one of his differences"

Rose relaxed once more, took a deep breath and replied

"You remember the one I told you about?"

"The one that holds your heart? Yes. The lord of time, I remember. Is he the one you spoke of?"

"Yes he's come back"

"Then your heart should be full" Seperoth replied his voice confused as to why she was sad.

"It can't be, he has moved on, got a new companion. It would be unfair to make him choose."

"Why choose? Why can't you both go? Do you not like his new friend?" Seperoth said reasonably.

"If the Doctor chose her, I doubt I could hate her if I tried." Rose laughed

"From what you have told me, he loves you. So you have nothing to fear."

"How do you know that what I have told you is not coloured by my emotions?"

"Because Rose, you are not like that." He rubbed his head against her in comfort, his feathers soft. They looked as though they had come from a large crow and been stuck around his head in a fan shape on either side. There was a space at the top of the head where a black mane flowed down. The feathers could be folded against the neck when fighting, so they would not be easy to grab.

"May I stay here a while Seperoth?" Rose asked like a small child, no longer the bad wolf, no longer the confident woman that could hand you your ass on a plate. But the lost child she had become, lost in the fear and the pain she was put through by just being in this time and place.

"Of course child" He laid his head down, as it was time to rest. The base would never be fully quiet, but it was calmer now than before. Rose closed her eyes as she snuggled against him, she was dimly aware that Arokh had come over and laid with them. His head on her thigh as she laid her hand upon his scaly nose, feeling the warm breath. They were shielding her from the terrors she would have to face, giving her these few moments of peace.

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Martha was talking to Jack when she heard the Doctor moan, she rushed to his side, not seeing Jack hang back in the corner.

"Rose…?" The Doctor murmured, his voice horse.

"No Doctor, it's me Martha." The Doctor blinked at her a moment before he gave one of his huge grins.

"Martha! Did you get the number of that Sontaran that obviously must have hit me?" He rubbed his head as he spoke, wincing in pain.

"Sorry Doctor no Sontaran, just some blue gas" Martha had got him a glass of water, which he gratefully took.

"Blue gas? Me the I'm-so-clever-Time-Lord, got knocked out by some ponsey blue gas?" he snorted

"Sorry Doctor but it's true. Don't you remember?"

"We had landed, looked around…..the gas!" He exclaimed, sitting bolt upright only to fall back clutching his head as dizziness overcame him.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you Doc," a familiar voice reached the Doctor's ears. He looked to the doorway to see someone he had not expected to see. Standing in a military outfit. He was leaning against the door jam, arms crossed against his chest, looking at the Doctor with guarded wariness.

"Jack?" the Doctor seemed to be beyond shocked.

"Hello handsome. Must say I like the change, miss the leather but I could get used to it" he gave his dashing smile before walking to the Doctor and gaving him a hug, patting him heartily on the back.

"Jack," the Doctor was all smiles as he hugged the other man. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh that's a long and boring story" Jack evaded the question.

"Excuse me…you two know each other?" Martha decided to ask.

"Sorry Martha, yes we know each other. He travelled with me a while".

"Yeah the Doc here stopped me being an idiot." Jack had his arm around the Doctor's shoulders.

"So what brings you a dead end place like this?" Jack asked,

"We were just going to Altaga 4 when the TARDIS registered a flux in time. So me being me we had to take a look. But how did you know I was me?"

"Tell you what, I'm going for a walk to let you two catch up" Martha could see the Doctor was happy to see his old friend and she needed to stretch her legs.

"Okay Martha, but remember what I said ok" Jack locked eyes with her.

"Don't worry I will. See you later Doctor." With that she walked from the room, leaving the Doctor and Jack to catch up.

"Jack you didn't answer my question, how did you know it was me?"

Jack sighed before he replied, "I worked for Torchwood in Cardiff"

"What year?"

"I arrived in Cardiff around 2007 time, hoping to run across you and Rose" Jack saw the Doctor jerk at the mention of her name and cursed himself for saying it.

"Rose is……" The Doctor began brokenly

"I know Doc, I was in Cardiff when the Cybermen came through. If I had known what they had been doing in London I would have put a stop to it. It was later that I saw her name with her mothers on the list of the dead"

"She's not dead Jack" Jack tried to act surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"She got sucked into an alternate reality. She can't get back, but she has her family. Mickey is with her, her mother, her father" the Doctor continued, his gaze stuck at a point on the wall and you knew he was a million miles away.

Jack remained silent, seeing this man he considered to be his best friend crumble under the onslaught of emotion he felt over the loss of Rose.

"I tried Jack, I looked for years to try and find a way to her. But if I passed through I could destroy both worlds."

"Rose would never want you to do that for her."

"Damn it Jack I know!" He got up from the bed; his brown jacket had been taken off, along with his blue pin stripe jacket. So he was only in his white shirt, his tie hanging loosely round his neck. "But I'm lost without her"

Such a strong admission from one such as he, Jack just looked at him as he ran his hands over his face. He nearly told the Doctor everything then and there but Martha came charging in.

"Jack! They are hurting her!" She exclaimed, out of breath as she leaned against the door.

"Who?"

"Bad Wolf! This man came up, she called him the Commander. He's hurting her Jack, he's going to kill her!"

"Aw hell!" Jack ran from the room, leaving a bewildered Doctor standing there.

"Bad Wolf?…What!"

TBC…..

KITG: OOOOh whats going to happen? See you in time :)


	4. Chapter 4: To tame a Wolf

To Tame a Wolf

Martha found herself wandering back towards the hanger bay. She wanted to speak with Bad Wolf and to thank her. Also she wanted to let Jack and the Doctor catch up, maybe he would bring the full smile to the Doctor's face. The hallways were almost deserted now, the base winding gown for the sleep cycle. Martha began thinking where Bad Wolf would sleep. She wasn't blind; the room the Doctor was placed in was clearly hers.

She had seen a photo on the floor, partially hidden by a black shirt. It had showed Bad Wolf standing beside a blonde-haired-women. The woman was holding a small baby, behind her shoulder stood a man. Martha assumed them to be family, her mother and father perhaps. Martha could see there was something wrong with the picture. It just felt as if Bad Wolf did not belong. She was loved….to an extent, but did not belong in the happy bubble.

Martha walked into the hanger bay, seeing a ring of men beside the horse..thing…or whatever they were. She watched as a large muscle bound man walked to the centre and called out.

"There you are my Bad Wolf…you have been a very naughty girl. Come here!" Martha almost burst out laughing..as if Bad Wolf would answer to that! From what Martha had seen of the women she would let no one treat her like a dog. So it came quite a shock to see her walk from the pens to stand before this man.

"Heel!" Again Martha expected Bad wolf to either punch this man or at the very least to say something at how she was being treated. But all Bad Wolf did was walk closer to the man and go down to one knee. It was as if she was dog sitting before her master. This seemed so wrong for one such as the Bad Wolf to do this. Her name was right, she was a Wolf, a free wild creature not some sheep dog!

"Sir?" even Bad Wolf's voice was submissive.

"You have injured fellow officers…you know the rules" the man was smiling the entire time, as if he held all the cards

"Well the fellow officers should learn to stay out of my way" Martha nearly let out a yell there was the Bad Wolf she expected. The euphoria vanished almost immediatel, the talk back did not go unpunished. The harsh sound of palm meeting face rang out in the vast space, accompanied by growls from the horses. Yet still Bad Wolf did nothing, her face to one side from the blow she slowly returned to facing the floor at her feet.

"Bad girl! You do not talk back to me! Now as to hitting fellow officers… what must you do?" the Commander asked of her.

"Not hit them, they are my betters" the exclamation of pain as boot met chest.

"I can't hear you!" the Commander shouted.

"Not hit them, they are my betters" the repeated monotone just louder. Again the sound of boot hitting chest, repeated several times in succession. Then the commander bent down and picked up bad wolf by her throat.

"Oh my pet…I thought I had tamed you…do you need to be trained all over again bitch?" Martha shivered at the look the commander gave Bad Wolf, looking her over head to toe a with lust he did not bother to hide. And she knew in that moment that this had happened before. This was confirmed by Bad Wolf's plea spoken like a child. It was this above all else that sent Martha running for Jack….for it was the sound of a soul almost broken.

" Please don't.."

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Rose had been dozing against Seperoth when she felt him move. A growl rumbled deep in his chest.

She sat bolt upright as the heavy footfalls reached her ears. She looked up to see men, all pointing their guns at her, surrounding the pen. Rose stroked Seperoth where he was still laid upon the ground, his teeth bared at the man that was walking to stand in the centre of his men.

"There you are my Bad Wolf…you have been a very naughty girl. Come here!" The snide voice, evil to the point of calming. It was like an Orchid, such beauty that hid such danger.

Rose stood up on automatic, walking from the cage to stand before the Commander. He was a huge man, you looked at him and you just knew he was military, but he had an air about him that if you were Russian would have screamed KGB. Rose walked before this man. Commander Sinclair.

"Heel!" She almost growled at that as the other sniggered at the way the Commander treated her. She moved closer, not daring to disobey. She went to one knee as if bowing down to a master.

"Sir?" She asked, all in a tone she had been taught, the lesson was hard learned and she would not forget..never forget.

"You have injured fellow officers…you know the rules" he stated, his tone almost gleeful as to what was about to happen, to what she knew was inevitable. She should have kept her tone submissive; it would lesson the pain in the long run. She had done this so many times before. Why now was there a rising urge to challenge this life?

"Well the fellow officers should learn to stay out of my way" Rose almost smiled as in that instant she realised why… she knew the Doctor would be ashamed of what she had become. The flame inside her was lit…but did not burn for long as the searing pain crashed across her jaw from the blow. The fire became a spark

"Bad girl! You do not talk back to me! Now as to hitting fellow officers… what must you do?" the Commander asked of her.

"Not hit them, they are my betters" she replied in a monotone of one well trained, then almost screamed as the heavy steel capped boot impacted in her side. And the spark dimmed.

"I can't hear you!"

Rose repeated the line louder this time then screamed as she was kicked in the stomach and chest several times, hearing Seperoth croon and growl in anger. The burning pain in her body as she curled into a ball. The spark dimmed further as she was picked up by her throat.

"Oh my pet…I thought I had tamed you…do you need to be trained all over again bitch?" she shivered as the memories from the first times..to her taming and the Wolf feared the lamb.

"Please no.." and the spark…..became an ember.

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Jack ran down the hallways, not hearing the Doctors footfalls behind him in his need to get to Rose. His blood roared in his ears and his heart leapt to his throat in fear of what he would find. Rose a sobbing naked mess, blood covering her as much as the bruises? Dead, sightless eyes staring out at an uncaring universe?

Jack poured on more speed; he would not let this happen again, no matter the cost to himself. So without thought but plenty of reason he ran straight into Sinclair and brought him to the floor in a rugby tackle, both men rolled to their feet as their training took over. He chanced a quick glance to the side to see Rose still curled into a ball, arms around her stomach. Then he turned back to Sinclair to see the man had murder in his eyes.

"Just what do you think you are doing Captain?" it was a question that would not tolerate any diversions. To affirm this the men in the room powered up their sonic guns, the whining hiss stopping all sound down to a pin drop.

"Helping a fellow officer…sir" Jack added as an after thought.

"Helping a fellow officer….and you think this justifies attacking your commanding officer? Captain I think you are a little confused." Sinclair brought up his hand and in it was what looked to be a remote. Jack stiffened before eh felt the pain flow through his nerves. He grunted in pain as he fell to one knee.

"I have had enough of this bullshit from the both of you! You are both mine to do with as I please" his wrist COM going off interrupted Sinclair. "What?"

"Sir, command is on the encrypted channel. Its level gamma 1" Sinclair growled before answering "divert it to my quarters. I'll take it there."

Sinclair looked at Jack and the form of Rose before waving his hand down, his men responding by powering down their rifles.

"Don't think this is over Captain. We will finish this at a later date." With a parting kick to Rose's form, he and his men left the room. Jack watched them go before rushing over to Rose. He paid no attention to the shocked wheezing gasp from a male. All he was worried about right at that moment was Rose.

"Rosie, come on sweetheart talk to me" Jack gently touched her abdomen, causing her to whimper. "Sorry, it's okay."

Jack picked her up; cradling her against his chest feeling her head come to rest in the crook of his neck. He mumbled nonsense words to her trying to comfort her. Only as he turned did he see the Doctor standing there out of breath and his eyes nearly falling out of his head.

"Bugger"

"Rose?" was all the Doctor could voice, an ardent prayer as if he was asking the universe to let this be real, to let it be her in Jack's arms and not some torturous illusion.

"Come on Doc, I need to see to her and I will need your help." Their story could be told later.

The Doctor and Martha followed Jack back to the room from before, both the Doctor and Martha looked shell shocked to see Rose. But now wasn't the time to worry what they both thought about finding Rose here.

Jack laid her down on the bed, caressing her face gently in comfort before he went and got some medical instruments. Using scissors he cut her top from her, not worrying about what they would see-he was detatched and clinical, but he knew the Doctor would not miss the three bullet wounds. She had two in her left shoulder area and one lower down through her stomach on the left. She also had various others scars she had gotten since working here. The bullet holes however, were a different story entirely.

Between them they had her sorted in no time, he had a tissue regenerator, not on par with the Doctor's mind you but it healed quite a lot of the injuries. She would be stiff and sore but nothing a hot bath wouldn't cure. It was Rose coming round that worried him the most, for the Doctor had taken his place beside Rose and would not leave. Besides what right did he have to keep them apart?

Jack held his breath as he saw her eyes flutter then open, to lock on the form of the Doctor and he couldn't help but smile as her defences fell.

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Rose heard Jack talking to her through the pain in her body. Felt the warmth of his body as he carried her and the pulse against her forehead that rested at his throat. Then there was the softness of a bed and she let the darkness claim her for a while. When she finally felt the darkness leaving and the blinding pain had become a manageable ache she had thought she had better open her eyes. Gradually there was realisation of someone holding her hand, as if willing her to wake up. The hand was such a comfort, one she had not felt in a long time. So she pushed her eyes open.

The light of the room blinded her a moment so she had to blink a few times before her sight came into focus. When it did she swore her heart stopped as she saw just who was holding her hand.

"Hello" his voice making her heart beat again, filling it with such feeling she could not describe; surly one person could not hold all this. Joy, bliss, fear, loss, guilt and many more war inside her in seconds. He seemed to be waiting for a response, his deep brown eyes pleading with her to accept him, to say something to him so he could be sure this was real.

"Doctor…" she felt tears running down her face then she practically launched herself at him as all her selfless decisions to let him go shattered. She wanted to be selfish, she wanted her Doctor.

Rose felt she had come home as his arms crushed her against him, only dimly aware that all she had covering her was a bed sheet. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, kissing his pulse point. She could hear him softly sobbing as his arms gripped like iron bars around her.

"Oh Rose…my Rose…you're really here. By Rassilon you're here, " then he pushed her back. "but how can you be here? And where did you get these? " He was gently touching the healed bullet wound on her left shoulder. "did that man give it to you?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened to black, and Rose knew that if Sinclair had been the one to give her these then he would pay dearly. She dreaded to think what the Doctor would do if he found out just exactly what Sinclair had done to her besides the beating.

"No it wasn't Sinclair" she replied. "Jack can you hand me a shirt?"

"Sure sweetheart" Jack grabbed a grey shirt and tossed it to her before sitting down on the other side of the bed. Rose put it on and as her head popped through the top of her t-shirt she clocked Martha hanging back, seeming out of place. Rose knew what that felt like and felt sorry for Martha.

"Come on Martha, come and sit down"

She seemed to hesitate a moment before sitting cross legged at the end of the bed so they were all facing Rose.

"I got these in the other reality, courtesy of Torchwood" Rose stated sadly.

"What?" the Doctor's eyes bugged out again. "How did you get back to this reality?"

"With the aid of this.." Rose leaned over and opened a hidden compartment on her bedside table. Pulling out a bracelet stained with blood and…bearing the seal of Rassilon..

TBC…..

KITG: woot, look at the reviews…you actually liked this? Lol anyway. Just how did Rose return to this reality? Flash back time next chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5: From Lost Cub to Bad Wolf

From Lost Cub to Bad Wolf

Rose sat looking out over the large estate from her bedroom window. It was autumn; the multi-coloured leaves swirling in the cold breeze that came from the north. Everything seemed to remind her of him, the colours and the smells. The leaves showing the passage of time to season from season. A path that she had to follow one day at a time.

"Rose, you coming?" Mickey's voice floated up through the hallways to her room and with a sigh she got up from the bed. She was already dressed in a smart grey uniform, ready for another day at Torchwood. Rose walked down the large ornate staircase, there waiting at the bottom stood Mickey, her dad and her mum.

In her mum's arms was a young child that burbled nonsense as it saw Rose. The baby held out its arms for its big sister. Rose scooped him from her mother's arms and kissed the child on the cheek making him laugh.

"See you later little Shauny" Rose Kissed her mum as she handed her brother back..

"See you later luv, make sure all four of you are back for dinner!" the famous Jackie scowl bearing down on all three of them.

"Yes Mum!" Rose rolled her eyes

"Yes sir Jackie" Mickey mock saluted, earning him a whack on the shoulder.

"Sure thing Jacks, see you later" Pete gave his wife a kiss before kissing the forehead of his son.

The three of them exited the mansion and headed towards the Land Rover that was parked in the drive. It was brand new and shining in the pale light. The jet-black paint devoid of any marking that would show the organisation it belonged to. In the front sat a spiky-blonde-haired-man.

"Hi Jake" Rose greeted as she got into the back of the car. Her father got in beside her while Mickey got into the front seat alongside Jake.

"Morning Rose" Jake greeted as he stared the engine. Then he turned to speak to Pete. "Sir, they want us at command straight away. They have found something"

"What?"

"They won't say over an unsecured line" Jake was now driving the Land Rover down the drive heading for Canary Wharf. Around Rose people got on with their lives, rebuilding after the cybermen and never knowing what was sacrificed to safe two worlds. The blimps slowly floated by in the sky, people went to work or school. It was normal, but it wasn't home.

Soon the huge tower of Canary Wharf loomed before them as they drove down into the underground garage entrance. They exited the car and entered the lift, pressing the button for the bottom floor. With a whir of hydraulics and cables the lift ascended its shaft. With a ping it arrived on the chosen floor and all disembarked, walking towards the security desk.

Each of them displayed their pass cards so they could move into the restricted area that was Torchwood. Through hallways and more lifts to the very top of the tower. They passed labs and offices, where men and women studied alien artefacts. They entered Pete's office, him being the director he had the large office that overlooked London.

Rose had an office next to his, though she wasn't in it often. She would be out in the field advising the Prime minister when situations arose. She was the only one who could understand aliens from the get go. They all filed into Pete's office to see one of his assistants waiting for them, she looked agitated and excited.

"Sir, you have got to see this!" She held out a folder, confidential blazed in red across it.

Pete opened the folder with everyone standing round him. Rose was closest as always. It was strange how she accepted him, he loved her like his daughter but still she wasn't. It was hard to explain exactly how he felt….but if he was given the choice to either save his own flesh and blood Shaun, or to save Rose ….he would choose Shaun every time.

Rose brought Pete from his thoughts as she gasped. He had been idly placing the photos of what Kate was so excited about on the table. On picture showed a wall with writings and pictures upon it. The pictures seemed to be depicting a falling star, and a being rising from the fire, staggering and weak. This being gave the people something. It had a symbol upon it. A figure 8 or ribbon with in an intricate shape.

"What does it say Rose?"

"And the sky was rent in two as the star of the gods fell to the earth. The fire raged for a day and night. Our dreams were full of screams and pain and loss. Then from fire came a god. He was hurt and maimed, burnt by the fire of hell. The war of the light against the dark had stumbled before our land." Rose recited.

"What happened next?" Mickey asked on the edge of his seat like a young child.

" He gave us our holy relic to protect us from the night. He bade us keep it safe, and then father time passed to the realm of heaven."

"Father Time?" Jake asked..

"Time Lords…." Mickey realised why Rose had gasped. Rose nodded her head in confirmation.

"It was an object of great power, bending the seasons to our will. But it became corrupt, taking people and returning them changed. We sealed the object under the protective seal, waiting for the return of father time's children" Rose finished.

"So the Time Lords have been here before?" Jake asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me, the Doctor said the Time Lords would often pass to parallel universes"

"Back in time for tea" Mickey added, thinking back to the first time they had landed here.

"Where is this?" Pete asked finally.

"In the mountains of Japan, just north of Tokyo. A recent eruption of a Volcano revealed this area in the neighbouring hills." Kate gushed to the assembled group.

"Well, looks like we'll be going to Japan"

"You can tell mum" Rose smiled at Pete.

"Oh no, you're the negotiator"

"Alien negotiator not parental" Rose smiled sticking her tongue out between her teeth. Pete sighed.. "I'll tell her"

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Mickey, Rose and Jake hid out in the living room as the sound of Jackie's screaming told Pete just what she thought of this idea.

"Do you think we should help him?" Jake asked. Rose and Mickey shook their heads with a venoment no.

Finally Pete emerged into the living room with a sheepish look.

"Well?"

"You three are going, I'm staying…"

"Why?" Jake seemed confused that Pete would have to stay behind and why he was dictated by Jackie anyway.

"Shaun's christening…"

"Ahhh" Rose nodded her head remembering. "So how did you get me out of that?"

"Fate of the world…and mentioned it was Time Lord…said nothing would stop you as far as that was concerned"

"I can't believe you actually listened to her….you're the director…how scary can Jackie be?" Jake could not understand why Pete was so scared. He took no notice, as Mickey, Rose and Pete seemed to pale .as Jackie had come to stand behind Jake.

"What was that Young man?"

"Run!" Mickey grabbed Jake as Rose fled. Leaving Pete on his own.

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The flight had been quick and soon they found themselves in the cave from the picture. The stone was dark like obsidian, here and there bits shined like polished black glass. Jake and Mickey led the way into the depths of the cave network, their torches illuminating various statues and effigies of protection. Finally they came to the wall with the mural upon it.

Rose stilled as the lights flickered over the seal in the centre. Something stirred inside her, a growl as if a creature inside recognised it. She had seen it before, inside the Doctor's TARDIS.

He had never told her what it was, just looking at it wistfully and saying it was nothing important. Rose had guessed it was something to do with the Time Lords, and was important despite his claims.

She felt drawn to the symbol, as it seemed to pulse gold from the light of the torch, before she realised what she was doing she was reaching for the symbol. It glowed gold that had nothing to do with the light from the torch. The seal parted to let a gold bracelet pass though as it recognised the trace of the Time Vortex inside her.

It floated free to land in her hand, obviously finding her the only worthy one. The light died down and everything became still once more as they all looked at the bracelet like object in Rose's hand.

"What is it Rose?" Mickey asked.

"I don't know, it looks like a bracelet but it feels warm to me" Rose looked close at the bracelet seeing the seal from before upon it. The disc that held the seal seemed damaged, the corner chipped.

All thoughts of examining the bracelet fled as the cavern began to rumble and collapse it's duty now done. They all fled the falling rock and emerged into the sunlight in a plume of dust. Rose, Mickey, and Jake stood coughing as the rumbles subsided.

"Well didn't see that coming" Mickey decided to add sarcastically " Indiana Jones eat your heart out"

"Muppet" Rose whacked his shoulder.

"Do you mind not hitting my boyfriend, I like him undamaged." Joked Jake, Rose came up and kissed him on the cheek.

"So sorry Jakey, maybe you should kiss it better"

"Come on, we should get back" Mickey strode past; Rose giggled as Mickey jumped back into the jeep. Jake smiled at them before following.

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Once back in Torchwood it became clear that things had changed, these changes would effect Rose's future more than she could ever realise.

Seems one of the grunts called Rockfort had got dilutions of grandeur and was setting in place ways to overthrow Pete. Rose fully realised this when she found out what they were doing with the bracelet. Trying to control time and go back to ally themselves with the Cybermen.

Pete called a meeting at home, Jackie was told nothing of this, as she was busy watching Eastenders as they spoke in the study.

"What are we going to do? Rockfort is going to use the bracelet to bring the Cybermen back!" Jake exclaimed.

"If we could get our hands on the bracelet and find out its secrets, make a weapon perhaps" Pete mused, he was sat behind his ornate desk fingers steepled before him.

"No" Rose said quietly.

"What do you mean no Rose? We could beat him at his own game" Mickey was all for the weapon it seemed, he had been here too long.

"I said no. No one but the Time Lords are meant to have it. We take it and destroy it, if that can't be done, we hide it." Rose's eyes blazed with conviction she believed none but the Doctor should have it, and as seen as he could never get here. She would make sure no one would abuse it. For the Doctor would not have wanted a product of his race to kill, that had been proved with the Genesis Arch.

"So what will we do?" Jake asked, "Steal it?"

"That's exactly what we will do" Pete outlined a plan.

So the plan was set in motion to take the bracelet. Rose believed that no one but the Doctor should have it. They stole into the safe unit and took it, but they were caught and Rose was brought before a private tribunal. Rose had managed to hide the bracelet on her wrist, changing what it looked like by housing it in the shadow of another bracelet at her wrist. She had then taken the blame, protecting her family from the wrath of Torchwood. Pete was trying to expose Rockfort, Rose only had to be the distraction until he had a case.

"Rose Tyler, we may be lenient if you tell us where the bracelet is." The judge spoke to her, as she stood alone. Rose had managed to hide the bracelet before she was caught, and then had taken the entire blame herself as Mickey and her father had eluded capture. She knew Pete was trying to undermine what Rockfort had done.

"It's not meant for us. So I won't tell you"

"Then there can be no alternative. Rose Tyler, I find you guilty of being a traitor to Torchwood and consequently the British Empire. You will be taken from this place and will stand before the firing squad. There you will be shot until you are dead."

Rose stood shocked, how could they do this? But this was not her reality and Torchwood would not stand traitors. She was pulled from the room, the bracelet painted and covered round her wrist. The hallways gave way to a yard as she was placed against a wall, before her men filed out with their weapons. Rose was dimly aware of men holding Mickey and Jake back as they cocked the guns.

Rose took a deep breath…

"Ready" 

Said goodbye to her mum and her family, feeling the picture in her jacket pocket.

"Aim" 

Sent her love through the stars to the Doctor, hoping her could feel her last goodbye.

"_Fire!"_

Searing pain in three places, blood flowing down an arm to flow over the bracelet that grew warm. The scream of a mother as she sees her child begin fall to the floor, blood pooling….then nothing.

TBC…

KITG: oooh, hope that explains some. So Rose has been shot, deem traitor and lost to the darkness…or is she?


	6. Chapter 6: A Member of the Pack Found

A Member of the pack found

Jack sat behind his desk at the Cardiff branch of Torchwood, being the leader of this institution was all well and good…..but the amount of paperwork that came with it was murder. He looked down at his desk, seeing yet another picture of the Doctor and Rose. This time they seemed to be in London just in time for the coronation. Seems they were near Crystal Palace that had been involved in this strange incident of people loosing their faces.

Seems someone by the name of Detective Inspector Bishop had been in charge. The Inspector had reported that the Doctor had helped him find a resolution to the situation, especially so when his lady friend, who seemed to go by the name Rose, had been afflicted with the same ailment as the rest of them.

Jack looked at the drawing done by an eyewitness to the incident at Torchwood manor with Queen Victoria. Rose was with him again, he couldn't help feel angry that they had never come for him, leaving him stranded on the space station with only Dalek dust for company. But it had eased somewhat with the pain of knowing Rose was dead. After all that had happened at Torchwood tower in London, the reports of Yvonne being turned into a cyberman and the Doctor being there to save them all, though some didn't see it like that. Some believed that the Doctor brought the troubles whenever he came, which Jack knew wasn't true.

He had arrived at Jackie's flat finding the place deserted, he had gone inside seeing Rose's red rucksack on the floor next to some Bezulium. He smiled, remembering the time he had gone rummaging in her rucksack, and ended up with her chasing him all over the TARDIS The chase ended when he had rushed into the console room and tripping over an open panel to land on the Doctor who was tinkering in the panel he had opened. A few seconds later Rose landed on the lot of them yanking her red knickers back. They had blamed each other, causing the Doctor to roll his eyes and mutter something about "Stupid apes".

He walked from the flat and, asking around, found the Tyler's hadn't been seen since it had all begun. Finally he had gone to the rescue central, and found their names on the list of the dead.

Jack had gone back to Cardiff with a heavy heart, his colleagues had noticed but could not get him to open up about it. He had continued on day after day with old memories burning holes in his heart. He knew the Doctor had survived, for he had popped up now and then with a new companion. He felt rage at the Doctor for this, replacing Rose so quickly. But to be fair he did not know how much time had passed for the Doctor between loosing Rose and acquiring this new companion.

He would come back every so often it would seem, so the girl could visit her family. He knew he was being slightly unfair to the Doctor, but he always had been where Rose was concerned, they both were. He knew Rose would not want the Doctor to be alone; she wouldn't be able to bear that. But he also knew that the Doctor had loved Rose, as she had loved him. To see him with another person just screamed wrong to the universe.

Jack looked at the clock, seeing it was nearly midnight he decided to call it a night. Grabbing his long jacket from the back of his chair he walked down the underground hallways. The base was underground and he would have to pass through the large hanger before going through the back entrance to a shop. The shop was a front for the main entrance, and another entrance to the hanger was also hidden, so they could get vehicles in and out. It was this hanger he was walking across when he was knocked off his feet by a wave of force, alarms started blaring at the special disturbance as his personally trained men came running in, guns at the ready.

There in the centre of the hanger was a ball of temporal light; it pulsed before floating like a feather on a breeze to the ground. It stayed there a moment as his men surrounded it.

"Weapons ready boys, we don't know what we are dealing with. But only fire on my order." Jack pulled out his sonic blaster and stood ready as the bubble dimmed, then popped like it's earth counterpart, the wisps of light disappearing to reveal the form of a person upon the ground. Jack tentatively approached in case this was a trap; Torchwood had many enemies so far. He saw the red crimson blood pooling as the beings laboured breathing reached his ears. Jack reached down to turn this person, who was obviously female.

Jack's men jerked as they herd their commander gasp, what was it? Was it a threat? But when Commander Harkness threw his blaster to the floor and turned the body gently. He was adding pressure to the obvious wounds on the woman.

"Get a medic in here now!" He roared and they reacted from months of practice. Then he turned back to the form below him "Rose, open your eyes sweetheart"

"Jack! What the heck is going on?" A woman in black leather, with short,dark hair appeared at his elbow.

"Not now Gwen! Help me!" he indicated the wounds seeping lifeblood.

"Jeeze Jack, who the hell is she?"

"She's a friend" he exclaimed through gritted teeth before turning to shout at his men "Where the hell are those medics!"

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Rose felt warm, at peace in a soft feathery embrace. She thought she must be wrapped in a cloud. She could feel someone stroking her hair, talking to her. He was saying her name whoever it was, but was saying it wrong. Calling her Rosie instead of Rose.

Her body ached, but also felt numb. No amount of painkillers could counteract the pain in her left shoulder and side. The nagging pain would let her sleep no longer and the voice seemed to so want to see her awake. Rose, with great effort, compelled her heavy eyelids to open.

"That's it sweetheart, open your eyes" the voice compelled her once again. So Rose tied again, the bright light blinding her a moment, before her swimming gaze locked onto a face she knew so well.

"There she is," he whispered gently to her.

"J…J..ack?" her throat so sore, voice ragged. But then despair set in, this couldn't be her Jack. He was in the other universe….but how was she still alive? Dad….her dad must have got there just in time.

"D….D"

"No Sweetheart, don't try to talk yet. Here" he pressed a straw to her lips, and she gratefully sipped the cool water. Jack continued talking, mis-interpreting her question. "Sorry Rosie, the Doctor isn't here. What happened?"

Rose's heart filled with joy, it was her Jack! If he knew about the Doctor then he must be hers. But how? How was he in this universe? She reached out a shaky hand to grasp his, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Rosie….it's okay…You're safe…what happened sweetheart?"

" I think I got shot"

"I think you did…" he said with a ghost of a smile. "Rose, you're listed among the dead in London. After the cybermen and the Daleks" he said Dalek with so much hatred and a little fear.

"Oh Jack, I fell. I let go, couldn't hold on anymore." She began to cry, Jack sat beside her on the bed, form laid out with hers. Then he gathered her close to him as she cried against his shoulder. "I was about to fall into the void. But my dad, well not my real dad but the parallel version of him pulled me through to the parallel universe."

"Whoa, Whoa..Go back a minute. Your dad? But you said he died when you were a baby"

"He did, it's hard to explain." Rose sighed. "The TARDIS got sucked into the parallel universe by mistake. Mickey was travelling with us"

"Mickey!" Jack growled, so they had taken Mickey with them. But hadn't come back for him. But Rose seemed to miss the tone as she continued her tale.

"Yeah, well anyway. It was a world that was exactly the same yet different. Their were blimps in the sky of London, my dad was alive and a multi-millionaire. I was a dog…"

"What?" Jack blinked, had he heard right?…a dog?

"Don't ask" She rolled her eyes. "In the end after fighting Cybermen and fixing the TARDIS. Mickey decided to stay in that Universe and me and The Doctor returned to this reality.

"So the Cybermen that came here were from that other reality?"

"Yeah, they got here thanks to the Daleks. They created a void ship and punched through to this universe. Looked like a giant coffee Revel." Jack shivered.

"Eww, giant coffee Revel of doom" Rose laughed at his disgusted face.

"Well, no doubt you heard the rest that happened, the mass carnage. In the end my mum went to the other universe, cause that universe's Jackie had been turned into a cyberman."

"Right…" he understood some of it now. "So one thing really that's been bugging me"

Rose looked at Jack, seeing a façade pass across his face. As if he was guarding his emotions.

"What Jack"

"Why did you abandon me on Satellite 5?"

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Rose sat stunned a moment, how could he think that? After all they had been through, the danger and love how could he think they abandoned him? Then it hit her, that was exactly how it appeared from his point of view. He hadn't been there through the regeneration.

"Oh Jack, we didn't abandon you"

"Well what would you call it? You didn't come back, you even took Mickey with you but you didn't come and find me. So what the hell was it Rose?" his voice had been rising in scorn as he got momentum. He had risen from the bed to pace to and fro, the winter sunlight streaming through the window flitting across his form.

"It wasn't like that. We didn't know at first that you were alive. He heard you die Jack the first thing I remember was waking up in the TARDIS with him going on about changing. Then he burst into flame right be fore me. And he was different, no big ears, more hair, and thinner. But his Regeneration went a bit wrong, he crashed the TARDIS and then he collapsed. I didn't know what was going on, I couldn't remember what happened on satellite 5. I remember the TARDIS taking me home then there was this big gap, a hole where the past should be."

Jack had sat down with rapt attention now, he too did not know how the Doctor had defeated the Daleks. The delta wave would have killed them all, and would have left dead empty shells. Not dust.

"I killed them all…"

"What?"

"You remember we kept see and hearing Bad Wolf everywhere me and the Doctor went?" Jack nodded "Well it was me. The station was being run by the Bad Wolf Corporation. When the Doctor sent me home I wouldn't accept it , couldn't. With the help of mum and Mickey we ripped open the TARDIS console and I looked into her heart and she looked into me."

Jack just sat on the side of the bed, gobsmaked. He could not get his head round this. She had looked into the heart of the TARDIS? What had that done to her?

"We became the Bad Wolf. I took the words and scattered them through time and space as a message to lead me to that point. Then I destroyed the Daleks by taking them apart atom by atom."

"The dust…."

"The Doctor was telling me to let go, that it was killing me but I had one more thing to do. You see, I couldn't let you be dead…I gave back the life that was taken from you."

Jack was sure his jaw was on the floor it had to be, he was sure his eyes were about to join it in his shock. It was Rose that had given him back life, had known that he had died. No one survived a Dalek gun.

"You…" she nodded. The next thing Rose knew she was in a tight embrace, he was kissing her on the lips, it was a kiss full of love and gratitude mixed with astonishment.

"Ow..careful Jack" he let go of her quickly remembering her wounds.

"A thank you doesn't seem enough"

"It is between us Jack" she smiled the full smile he so loved.

"What happened next?"

"Well it was killing me, no one was meant to see the Time Vortex, and no one can hold it. But the Doctor took it from me; it killed him causing him to regenerate. I passed out, he didn't have time for anything, and he didn't know what I had done. He picked me up and left. I'm so sorry Jack, if I had only remembered sooner"

He hugged her once more, setting her against his side, her head against his shoulder.

"It's not your fault sweetheart. You are one amazing woman." Rose blushed.

"So what happened to you after we left you?"

I stayed in that time for a while, helping them rebuild. Then I got my hand on a time ship. I went back to 2007 London to see if I could find you. Well that was the plan, ended up in Cardiff." Rose giggled.

"What is it with Cardiff and us?"

"I have no idea. Anyway, a secret organisation called Torchwood got wind of me. And yes I know you know about it, heard all about what happened in London. I helped them see my side of handling things. I advised the Prime Minister Harriet Jones. And so was given control of the Cardiff branch."

"What year is it?"

"It's the 22nd of February 2008" he passed her another glass of water, a pink straw inside making her smile.

"So I've been away from him no more than a few months here. It was 2 years from my point of view" she had a far away gaze. "Who knows how long it has been for him….I hope he's not alone"

Rose yawned, she felt so tired and the painkillers were wearing off. Jack took the glass from her grasp and helped her get comfortable.

"Sleep Rosie, we'll talk in the morning"

"It's Rose not Rosie" She mumbled, but then her eyes shot open. "What's going to happen to me? I'm dead"

"First you're going to get better, then we'll try to get hold of the Doctor for you"

"You can't. My super phone is in the other reality; he thinks I'm there. Besides what if he is with someone else Jack…what if he's changed….What if he's dead!" her voice had begun to rise in he horror.

"Hush Rose, easy. If you don't want me to call him I won't . You could…I don't know..work for Torchwood, with me?"

Rose smiled as her eyes began to close.

"Might as well, was second in command of Torchwood in the other reality…"

TBC...

KITG: there we go another chapter. oooh the backstory is coming alone nicely.


	7. Chapter 7: Finding A New Home

KITG: Sorry for the wait for this chapter, family problems.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my mother who died 2 years ago on the 15th of October 2004. that date strangely will live in my memory for two reasons, her death and for the fact it was also her birthday. that was my mother, always had to make a statement :)

  
Finding a new home

Rose had stayed in hospital for 3 weeks before she was allowed to return home, but what home? Mum's flat had been sold; she had no money here and no identification. She shouldn't have worried, after all Jack was with her. He was there to help her check out, big smile on his face as he had grip of the wheelchair, he was gleeful as he indicated for her to sit.

"Oooh no, if you think I'm getting in that with you in control you have another thing coming!" She threatened with one of her crutches.

"Rose, you're as safe as if the Doctor was driving the TARDIS" Rose would not even dignify that comment with a response. She just glared at him.

"Okay…not the best example…safe as…..safe as if you were having a drink with me" Rose sighed as she sat in the chair.

"Jack, still not helping, just shut up and drive"

"I don't know whether to be happy that you sat down after that argument or not…"

"Why?"

"Well, I think my ego has taken a hit. After all you feel safe with me if we go for a drink? So that means you think that nothing will happen, and I have no chance"

"Well keep nursing your bruised ego, cause you don't…you're like my big brother"

"Ouch!" Jack mimed being stabbed, then making the sound effect of a plane being shot down in flames. Rose laughed, giving Jack a conciliatory kiss on his cheek. He smiled before taking hold of the wheelchair handles and roaring off down the hospital entrance way.

He directed the chair to the almost full parking lot; there in a quiet space was a black 4x4, looked like a Land Rover or one like it. Leaning against the side was a woman in black leather, black hair cut short. She looked familiar to Rose, a blurred image like when you have just woken from a long sleep.

"Gwen Cooper, meet Rose Tyler" Gwen nodded her head at Rose, and she returned the gesture. Jack gently picked her up from the chair and placed her in the back seat. He sat beside her while Gwen got behind the wheel; she started the car and set the vehicle in the direction of the Cardiff headquarters.

Gwen handed back a large brown envelope to Jack, he then handed it to Rose. She opened it to find Torchwood ident, driving licence, and a few other cards that could get you out of situations if needs be.

"These are all you need Rose, if you think of others we can get them made. You're flat is opposite mine, I'll take you there later. But how about we show you you're desk" he smiled

"Thanks Jack" Rose wrapped her arms around Jacks neck, kissing him on the lips briefly in an overjoyed action. He laughed, hugging her back in his happiness to have her back and with him.

Gwen drove into the Torchwood hanger, Rose's blood long since washed from the floor. Gwen parked the 4x4 and got out to help Rose out of the car, passing her the hospital crutches. Gwen then walked ahead of them to open the Door for Rose.

"We can't have you doing too much yet, but you said the TARDIS is still translating for you?" She nodded to Jack's question "then you'll be behind a desk in constant contact with us so you can give us heads up.

All three emerged into a large room filled with desks and people at computers. About 8 in total lined the walls or were in the centre of the room. To the left was what looked to be some scaffolding, which Rose assumed was the base of the silver fountain.

"Rose..Welcome to Torchwood"

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Rose looked up from translating some alien text as Jack came in from another mission in the field. He walked up and kissed Rose on the cheek.

"Hello sweetheart"

"You look knackered, tough chase"

"You don't know the half of it" Complained Gwen as she walked in dripping in goo.

"Gwen!" Rose exclaimed at Gwen's appearance she rounded on Jack "Jack, how could you send her in first against the Slitheen with a jar of Vinegar!"

"What? How did you know I sent her in first?" Rose looked from goo covered Gwen and back to Jack "Okay so I sent her in first. You're not an expert until you have been covered in goo.

"So when are you going to get covered?" Gwen asked, standing beside Rose as both girls locked eyes on him.

"What? And ruin my looks? Forget it!"

"Well I don't know about you Gwen, but it seems to me if your not an expert until your covered in alien goo…that you should be in charge, you being the expert now" Rose explained in a conspiratorial tone.

"You know what Rose? I think you're right." Jack was beginning to look like a deer in the headlights

"Hey…wait a minute!"

Both girls were in hysterics in a matter of seconds at Jack's face. He rolled his eyes then smiled seeing Rose and Gwen leaning against each other to stand up. Rose made a face when she realised Gwen had dripped on her hand; she began shaking the hand trying to get the goo off. It flicked off and landed on Jack's nose. All was silent a moment before the girls dissolved into tear filled laughter.

Jack was so happy seeing Rose laugh so freely once more, she still went out some nights to stand on the roof of their apartment block. He would go up and sit with her, taking one of his quilts up on cold nights. They would tell stories of their lives when they had been apart. It grew ever more apparent to Jack that her heart would forever belong to the Doctor.

Gwen went off to shower and change; Jack sat beside Rose to look over the translations she had done. He looked at her computer, seeing emails from all the other branches of Torchwood, all asking to join their establishment. But Rose would never leave. She got up to get them both a cup of coffee. She turned back with a far away look on her face. Drat she was thinking about him again.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?" She looked at him, blinking back into the moment.

"It's meeeee daarling!" Jack did in his best camp voice. Rose giggled as she struck a pose.

"Well hellooo Daarling!" she mimicked back.

They had a laugh together as she sat on his lap. To others they would look like a couple, but it was never beyond friendly touches. It was love and devotion; they would do anything for each other. But they were not "in love" with each other. Rose loved the Doctor..and Jack….well Jack could never be tied down to one person for too long. But with Rose it would be as close as he would ever get and he took all the love he could.

"Alert! Alert! Spacial disturbance detected! Alert! Alert!" the computer system screamed. Rose leapt off Jack's lap reaching for her sonic gun she kept in the drawer. She slotted it into her holster as she donned her leather jacket. Together they ran to the hanger were the disturbance was detected. Jack briefly wondered what was with the hanger

"Jack! What is it and our hanger with Spacial disturbances?" Gwen shouted to him, her black hair still wet from having a shower.

"Maybe they love what I have done with the place!" Jack replied, giving his mega-watt smile as Rose and Gwen rolled their eyes.

They all gathered round the Hanger as a rip appeared in the room. It glowed bright blue, arcs of electricity shot out from its centre to strike randomly around the room, hitting cars, concrete and people.

"Stay back!" Jack shouted as he grabbed Gwen out of the path of a bolt, noticing Rose diving and rolling out the way also. She had come so far in such a short time.

"You hearing anything Rose?"

"Nothing yet!" She shouted back over the wind. Then all of a sudden it stopped. There was silence, no arcs of energy…nothing.

But then in the centre of the light a shape could be seen, it looked humanoid as it became clearer. Everyone stood at the ready as someone stepped through. One then another then another.

The first one looked completely human, short black hair, large build and gruff looking manner. Then a scrawny wretch of a man that believed he had power when he had none. The gruff man walked forward to stand before Jack, Rose and Gwen.

"Captain Jack Harkness, Miss Rose Tyler. I'm Commander Sinclair of Torchwood 2234. Torchwood needs your help"

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"So let me get this straight." Jack exclaimed as he sat at his desk. Captain Sinclair and one of his men called Nova sat opposite. Rose and Gwen stood at Jacks shoulders. "You expect us to believe you come from the future, you've heard about us through records of the past. Saying we were the best team to ever head Torchwood and you have come to ask us for help?"

"That's right Captain" Sinclair nodded

"Right, and you thought it would be a great idea to use a bloody great rip engine to get here huh?" Jack stood up and began to pace round the room, locking eyes with Rose to say that it was true. "Then you expect me and Rose to go with you, into the future and possibly damaging the time line beyond repair? I don't think so"

Sinclair reached into his breast pocket, causing the Jack to tense a moment. Sinclair raised his hand in a placating manner. Jack indicated to Rose to retrieve what Sinclair had been reaching for. Rose walked cautiously over to Sinclair; she reached into the breast pocket to pull out a data pad. But Jack did not miss the leer Sinclair gave Rose; Jack growled low to himself as Rose walked back to him. She handed Jack the pad, he recognised it from museums from his time. He had to give Rose's hand a quick squeeze to re-affirm to him that she was okay.

He scrolled through the data, it told of them, of how they disappeared through a rip in time that appeared on this date. It would seem they were meant to go with them, that Gwen would take over and do well being in charge.

"What do you think Rose?"

"What choice do we have? We both know we need more than this" Rose answered truthfully; she missed travelling among the stars and so did Jack.

"So why exactly do you need out help?" Jack asked Sinclair

"We had set up an outpost on Regula-4, there was a community a few miles away from where we set up the base. We got reports of people going missing, or being found in their habitats with faces twisted in terror. We couldn't figure out what was going on. Then one night the fog came"

"Fog?" Rose perched herself on the edge of Jack's desk.

"Yes. It was blue and seemed to come out of nowhere, people who came into contact with it had problems breathing. But that wasn't the worst of it, the fog incapacitates you so they can get you"

"They?"

"We haven't seen them clearly, just shadows in the fog with red eyes. We can't hurt them but we have made on area safe. They can't pass through phasic shielding, so we had to evacuate the civilians to the base. Our Communications with earth are lost and besides it would take then too long to get here."

"So you looked us up?" Gwen seemed not to be believing this.

"We looked up your commander yes. We have all been trained by your example, no one knew exactly why you disappeared. But it made sense that you would have left a message if you had travelled through time via rip technology. So we looked for the last entry before you disappeared. There was encrypted date that became un-encrypted on the date we accessed it. You left a message saying you had travelled to our time with a Commander Sinclair." Sinclair finished

"Escort our guests back to the hanger. We will join you shortly" Jack's men took Nova and Sinclair from the Room, leaving the three of them alone.

"You two can't seriously be thinking of going!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Gwen, everything you need is here on this data stick. You will take over in my absence."

"This is madness, how can you be sure?" Gwen could not understand the laws of time, for she had always taken the slow path.

"It is something me and Rose must do Gwen. We don't belong here," Jack explained to her

"What do you mean you don't belong here?" she looked frustrated and scared.

"Didn't you ever wonder how I knew so much about aliens? Or how Rose could understand any language?"

"I thought you had just been trained."

"No Gwen, I am from the 51st centaury, I travelled through time to get here." Gwen rounded on Rose, clearly not believing any of this.

"Oh and I suppose your from the future as well!"

"No, I was born in this centaury, in London. Tell me what was Torchwood created for?" Rose asked.

"Torchwood was created to protect the United Kingdom against the threats posed by aliens after the encounter of the Doctor with Queen Victoria." Gwen recited perfectly.

"You missed a bit. Who was with the Doctor when he met Queen Victoria?" Gwen sighed and walked over to the Torchwood charter, she read a little way.

"Her majesty Queen Victoria, Passes this charter by royal command. That after the Incident of Torchwood Manor, where her royal highness did meet with the Doctor and his wild child…." Gwen looked at Rose, then back at the charter.

"Great, I go down through history as the Doctor's "Wild child" not friend, not even his wife. I think I'm slightly insulted" Rose complained. Gwen plonked down on a chair.

"I don't believe it.."

"Gwen after all you have seen since joining Torchwood and you find this hard to believe?" Jack laughed.

"Are you two sure about this?" Gwen looked at them both, becoming resigned.

"We are" Rose replied placing her arm around Jack's waist. Jack affirmed this by putting his arms across her shoulder. Gwen got up and walked over to them.

"Then you two better take care of yourselves, or you'll have me to answer to" She then embraced them both, all enveloped in a strong hug.

Rose and Jack packed some personal items and headed to the hanger, where Sinclair was waiting for them. Sinclair nodded to Jack and Rose before turning to the rip. He sent Nova and then their man through first. But then a thought struck Rose.

"Jack, wait. If we go through won't the same thing happen to us as happened to Das? Won't it pollute our cells? We'll be ripped apart if we try to travel again."

"You're right" Jack remembered the Das nearly being ripped apart in the TARDIS when the Doctor had tried to take the Neanderthal home.

"Don't worry, here" Sinclair held up two black collar like devices. Rose noted he had one round his neck. "This will stop the effect of the rip engine on your bodies."

Jack and Rose took the collars, never realising they had sold their souls to Sinclair in that moment. Both passed through and left the past behind them.

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When they arrived in the future they did everything they could to help, but when they were not getting the desired results Sinclair got nasty. They had tried to take the collars off but Sinclair had told them they needed to keep them on to finish the treatment to counter act the rip engine. How naive could they be?

Jack did not miss the looks Sinclair gave Rose, the burning lust and ownership. One day the fog had spread and killed important personnel, leaving Sinclair to take a roasting. The backlash he had taken out on Jack and Rose. It was that day they knew what Sinclair was. They cried out in pain as the collars sent electricity through their bodies.

Jack and Rose tried to escape on many of occasions but it always ended in pain. Until one day Sinclair decided to tame his wolf once and for all, and in so doing break the captains spirit…

TBC….

KITG: oooh, well back to the presant next chapter, look out for the fluff!


	8. Chapter 8: The Call Of The Moon

The Call of the Moon

Jack watched as Rose finished her tale. He doubted Rose could see it, not from where she was standing, but he could easily make out the ominous set to the Doctor's jaw as he silently clenched his fists at his sides.

He was angry now –but he still didn't know the half of it. Rose had left out the multitude of belittling, humiliating jibes, the leers that turned to something more dangerous as she continued to ignore them. . .

She had left out where Sinclair raped her. Maybe she was right to do so –he had a feeling not even Rose was sure how the Doctor would react to the violation.

He didn't know this Doctor very well, not the way Rose did, but if the old Doctor was anything to go by, then. . . well, all Jack could think was how much he wanted to witness what he did to Sinclair when he found out.

Rose had told him that this Doctor was less shattered, on the outside at least, but he gave you no second chances –and this was not the sort of thing he would have forgiven even if he had been a forgiving man.

Jack had the idea that this Doctor was quite capable of killing.

He also knew Rose didn't want the Doctor to become a killer for her sake.

The Doctor cupped Rose's face with his hands, looking into her eyes, and Jack just knew he suspected Rose had left something out. Something that left a stain on her soul. He wouldn't push though –Jack knew instinctively that the Doctor had his own darkness he wanted no one to see.

But Jack also knew that the Doctor was almost devastated to see it in her eyes –the darkness in his own gaze reflected back to him, a mirror to his own scar.

Martha had been sitting in shocked silence, unable to believe her ears. Suddenly, now the story was finished, she stifled a yawn as her need for sleep caught up with her.

Jack could see that the Doctor and Rose wanted to be alone, if only to re-affirm that this was real.

He pushed himself from the grey walls he had been leaning on, and walked over to Martha.

"Come on Martha, let's get you a bed."

Martha hesitated, looking at him warily, and Jack smiled reassuringly.

"Yes, it's mine," he said, raising both hands in a placating gesture, "but you're the only one who'll be in it."

"Don't worry, Martha," said the Doctor, his eyes briefly breaking contact with Rose's as he took in the situation. "You can trust Jack. Just don't ask him to show you his party tricks."

"Okay Doctor," said Martha dryly, "I'll bear that in mind. Night, Rose."

"Night, Martha," replied Rose with a bright smile.

Jack led Martha from the room, taking her down the hallway to his room. It wasn't that far from Rose's –almost next door, in fact.

They passed through the threshold into Jack's room. By necessity, it was decorated in a conservative style that didn't sit well with his exhibitionist nature. But then, most of the time he was too busy trying to keep them both alive, rather than worry about his décor.

Nevertheless, it still managed to have a feeling of home, dotted about as it were with mementos and souvenirs he had picked up through his life. On the small, angular table in one corner, a large picture was propped up, without a frame, or anything.

Just a large-ish snapshot of three people –one of them Rose, one of them Jack, and the other, a man Martha had never seen before, a man with short black hair and the most piercing blue eyes she had ever seen. They all seemed to be wearing the same style of clothing.

There was a small door fitted in the far wall, and Jack gestured to it.

"There you go, Martha. Bed's in there. I'll be out sleeping on the couch, or working, okay?"

"Thanks, Jack," she said gratefully.

"For such a beautiful Lady?" asked Jack with a flirtatious smile. "No problem."

Martha laughed –even as she whacked him on the arm.

"Down, boy," she cautioned lightly, and shut the door in his face.

"Oh well" Jack sighed "no harm in trying…and trying….and trying

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Rose watched as Jack and Martha left, closing the cold grey steel door behind them.

The Doctor was watching as well, waiting for the click of the door's catch before he turned back to Rose. His eyes were expressive –they asked the million questions he had could never voice.

He couldn't bring the words out. There was so much that had happened, such a long time since they had met –but Rose still knew how to read her Doctor.

"Did you miss me?" she asked, and behind her voice was the echo of a question asked when this Doctor was only new-born.

It was all he needed. In an instant, he was beside her, her body crushed tightly against his as though he would never let go.

"I thought I would never see you again!" he said quietly, his voice muffled in the skin of her neck, just as her voice had been once, on an adventure just before they had been torn apart.

He clung to her for comfort, breathing in the smell of her, the essence of her that was the same as it always been. He felt like a small child, hiding from the pain of the world in the safe embrace of a loved one.

"I missed you too." She held him tight, guiding him to bed without ever letting go of him, lying him beside her, his head resting on her shoulder as his arms clasped around her torso, showing the universe he was never going to let go.

Rose said, almost whispering, "But I knew I'd see you again some day."

The Doctor leaned over her, his gaze boring into hers, past her eyes and right through her soul. For the first time, she realised how tired he looked, but it wasn't a residual effect of the gas.

It was more than mere sleepiness –it was bone weariness, as though he had never stopped, never looked back as he ran from the pain.

Afraid of what he might see.

"How long?" she whispered to him, cupping his face with a gently palm, as he closed his eyes and leaned into the comfort she offered.

The Doctor didn't need to ask what she meant.

"I looked for a way back for a couple of decades . . . at least twenty years. I never stopped trying. And then I met Martha. She needed my help." The Doctor smiled a little, and Rose chuckled.

"Knowing you," she said lightly, "she would have needed a little more than 'help'."

"Okay," admitted the Doctor. "She was about to killed by a roving mob of very angry Ice Warriors."

"And let me guess," Rose's smile widened. "You had something to do with making them angry in the first place."

"I give up!" the Doctor would have thrown his hands up in surrender, but he had no intention of letting go of the woman in his grasp. "Are you clairvoyant, or am I just predictable?"

"Both," Rose quipped back, and the Doctor laughed.

Then she turned serious.

"You shouldn't have stayed alone so long . . . it's hurt you. I can see it."

Rose caressed his cheek with her thumb, as his face seemed to fold in on itself slightly, reduced to tears, but fundamentally unable to cry. He had shed so many tears in that two decades alone . . . now, his Time Lord visage demanded they stay where they could do more harm to him.

"I couldn't help it," he said, and his voice was almost frustrated. "Do you even know how deep you are inside me? You flow in my blood, my breath . . . not one of my companions ever got under my skin like you did. When you were taken from me . . . my hearts were torn out with you."

He looked for the heavens for guidance

"So I tried to find away to you, but there was nothing I could do. I had done my job too well."

He gave a rueful laugh at himself. The Doctor, the saviour of Rassilon knew how many individual species, Champion of Time, even President of the Gallifreyan high Council for one hideous moment.

The Doctor could do anything. Seal the breach, defeat the Daleks and the Cybermen, save two worlds. . .

Oh, he had done that alright, sucking the invaders into the void like water down a drain, like poison from a wound. The breach was sealed, never to be punched through again. And so the Doctor had sealed his heart by his own hand.

"I couldn't find any way to you" He rolled onto his back to look at the ceiling. He didn't want her to see the shame in his face. It was bad enough she would hear it in his voice.

"So I travelled from place to place, but I didn't see anything. Everything just reminded me of what I had lost. I was always thinking, "What would Rose do here?" and "I bet Rose would do this" I helped people, but it wasn't the same. Not without you."

Rose was shocked. She had stuck so deeply within the Doctor, a Time Lord, was amazing. But then, he had done the same thing to her. So often had she wanted to go in all guns blazing, and a small voice had whispered, "The Doctor would find another way". And, for the sake of the voice, so had she.

She listened as he continued.

"When I met Martha, she made me realise that what I was doing was wrong. That you would hate it, hate me."

Rose almost flinched at the open pain in his voice.

"I could never hate you!" she protested, leaning over him this time.

He wouldn't meet her gaze though.

"You don't know what I've done, Rose."

"I don't care."

"I did so many terrible things in my time, but this. . ." he trailed off.

"I don't care," repeated Rose.

"I killed my people," he said, almost whispering. "I ended the Time War. I pressed the button."

Rose lay for a moment in silence as she absorbed this. It wasn't so much the shock that he had done it. she had had an idea that it had been by his hand that the Time Lords had ceased, for a long time.

What shocked her was he actually admitting it.

She felt him shaking beside her, as though waiting for her to shout at him, to push him away, to reject him.

"I know what you did," she said, and the Doctor jerked and shifted on the bed as he turned to look at her.

"And I forgive you."

He seemed stunned a moment, as if he could not believe it, could not comprehend it. Then the tears began to fall and she pulled him back into her embrace, feeling his tears fall on her neck as he whispered her name in an ardent prayer.

She was right; he could not comprehend how she could forgive him so easily. He had killed his race. Committed genocide . . . and his own people!

To save the universe, yes, but still their blood was on his hands. He had committed murder a trillion times over and here was this human girl, no woman, forgiving him for all he had done. She had become his absolution, his redemption. She had been the moment she had taken his hand, giving her complete trust to a stranger.

He tightened his embrace, taking her scent, her very presence into himself to remember for all time. He could feel her rocking him, whispering sweet comfort as she stroked his hair. The Doctor felt home like never before. He moved so he could look into her brown orbs once more, loosing himself in them.

"Rose Tyler . . . I love you" He whispered to her, almost afraid that this moment would be taken from him again. Her hands framed his face, wiping away his tears with her thumbs.

I love you too . . .My Doctor"

Her claim to him had always been his undoing. He lowered his lips to hers in the softest of touches. Her name was well earned . . . her lips were as soft as rose petals. This was no mind-controlled snog thanks to Cassandra, or a kiss to save her life. This was a kiss to show that she was his very breath. This was never more apparent than as she was left gasping, as he took her breath away.

Then the Doctor yawned.

Rose giggled "Wow, you really know how to impress a girl."

"Sorry, I'm not usually this tired." But she could see he was lying, the bags under his eyes told the truth. This was not the after-effects of the fog; this was the result of years of lack of sleep catching up to him.

"Liar. You haven't been sleeping, have you?" he stayed quiet a moment. "Doctor…" she prodded.

"Okay, I haven't slept very much," at Rose's raised eyebrow "Alright, not at all really. Little cat-naps, but every time I slept, I could see that day, replaying over and over. The ending always changed, but the theme the same."

Rose waited for him to continue. "You died, over and over. Daleks kill you, Cybermen…"

Rose placed her finger to his lips to stop him; she then guided his head back to her shoulder. She then wrapped the cover round them both. "Shhh my Doctor. Sleep."

He snuggled against her feeling her kiss the top of his head. His eyes closed, lulled by the beat of her one heart and her rhythmic breathing. The last thing he felt before dreamless sleep claimed him was his hand linking with hers, fingers interlaced and her head resting against his own.

888888

In the morning Jack walked into Rose's quarters like always . . . without knocking. He smiled to see the Doctor out cold on Rose. She was awake; looking doe eyed at the sleeping form that still had her in his embrace.

"Aww . . . soo cute" Jack whispered. Rose stuck her tongue out at him. In his hand were today's reports. She motioned to them.

"Anything interesting?" she asked quietly then stilled as the Doctor moaned into her neck. They held their breath a moment before Jack replied.

"Yeah. They're getting closer. Sinclair's little stunt with the Time Bubble has somehow made them stronger." He passed her the data pad which she scrolled through.

"We're running out of time."

"Good thing I'm a Time Lord then."

"Arrgh!" Rose jumped.

"Eeep!" As did Jack.

The Doctor raised his head to look at the other man.

"Did you just eep?"

"Um, no"

"You did, I distinctly heard an eep."

"No you didn't"

"I think I know what I heard!" the Doctor replied in an indignant tone. Rose just rolled her eyes.

"How can you tell? You haven't got radar ears anymore!" oh dear . . . it was becoming personal now.

At that point Martha decided to walk in. Rose waved her over to sit beside her – and to keep her out of the way of the boys.

"Radar ears! Rose, did you hear that? Radar ears!" He waved his hands around in annoyance. "At least I'm not an overgrown teenager with and libido that puts Don Juan to shame!"

"What's going on?" Martha whispered to Rose

"Well at least my hair doesn't look like I've stuck my finger in an electric socket!" Jack shouted back.

"Ignore them, they are just becoming re-acquainted" she whispered back

"Well at least mine doesn't look like I had a chip pan tipped over my head."

"At least I don't go gaga over a mole "oooh I've got a mole . . .love the mole." Jack imitated.

"Well at least . . . wait a minute . . . Rose!" the Doctor rounded on her. "What'd you tell him that for?"

"Oh, don't bring me into it! Me and Martha are going to get something to eat."

With that, the two girls left the room.

The two men looked back at each other, scowling . . .then broke into huge grins.

"God, I missed you, Doc." Jack embraced the Doctor patting him on the back.

"Feelings mutual…now did she say something about food?" With that the two men ran to catch up.

88888

The Doctor ate breakfast with the rest of them, laughing like old times. The food was barely edible –the toast was like cardboard, the bacon thin, greasy strips of cloth, and the jam looked like shoe-gunk.

But they were kept busy talking, and not even the Doctor commented on the unappealing food. But then, he was busy doing a bit of "tinkering".

It had taken him all of five minutes to disengage the collars around their necks, all the while muttering obscenities in Gallifreyan that Jack ignored, and Rose pretended not to understand.

They had kept them on, of course, so Sinclair wouldn't suspect anything. If the Commander pressed the button, they would have to fake it for now.

The Doctor wanted to know more about the creatures they were facing, so Jack and Rose took him to the tactical ops. They loaded up a video from the security archives.

At first, all he could see was the blue, gas-like fog. It was obvious whoever had taken the shots had no idea of know the danger they were in. in fact, it had been a tourist that was taking the picture.

It was a father as well by the sound of it, if the young girl was anything was to go by.

The girl was standing before the camera, in front of the fog. She was asking her father questions about the blue fog. What was it? Where did it come from? Who made it?

The father replied as countless parents had done before him when they didn't truly know the answer, making one up to appease the child's imagination.

_"It's fog pumpkin, made from Garlcks breath."_

"_Really? Will I see one?"_

"_If you're a good girl you might,"_ The child was now waving her hands through the fog, when she stilled, coughing.

"_Daddy, I don't feel too good,"_ in his haste to get to his child he forgot to turn of his recording device, it now hung from his strap pointing at the ground.

"_What's the matter pumpkin..." _but the man trailed off as he too began to cough.

"You might not want to see this bit," Rose said softly to Martha, but she could not draw her gaze away.

"_Hold on to me pumpkin,"_ but all that could be heard was a child's violent coughing, then a growl from the fog. _"Who's….there?"_ The father asked between coughs, voice now hoarse.

A screech like nails on a chalkboard. A father pleading to the Gods to save his child, the child's screams joining his own as the camera pitched and it the ground. Blood pooling past its lens as the screams became gurgles, became silence.

"Oh my God." Martha whispered.

"Yes, it's not pretty," the Doctor agreed.

Rose stilled the camera at a certain point, there in the gap left by the blood you could see a shape in the fog, a hunched creature with arms trailing on the ground. Martha shivered at the pure menace that seemed to pour off its form.

"We can't seem to stop them. They rip you to shreds –"

" –while the gas incapacitates you," the Doctor finished for Jack. "What's been keeping them back so far?"

"The phasic shield, but our commander's recent stunt with the Time bubble seems to have changed that. It had no effect on them whatsoever."

"Oh, but it did, they're out of phase now. That's why they can pass through all of a sudden; they just haven't been able to harness it yet. When they do nothing will stop them." The Doctor looked at the screen once more. "If I had a skin sample..." he mused to himself.

All except the Doctor looked to Rose as her wrist beeped. She looked at the readout.

"Our lord and master calls, Jack show the Doctor the phasic shields while I see what he wants."

"Okay Sweetheart. Be careful"

"Always am."

She went up to the Doctor. He was looking her over intently, but she couldn't read his eyes this time.

"Maybe I should go with you."

"You can't. You would have to pass through the bio scanner; it would tell you're an alien in a second. I'd rather he didn't know just yet." She reached up to give the Doctor a quick kiss. He prolonged it by pulling her close to him.

"Yay, 'bout time" Jack exclaimed. Martha just stood in silence.

Rose walked up, giving Jack a quick peck on the cheek and an even quicker glance at Martha before she walked from the room.

The Doctor and Jack looked at one another before turning back to the vid. They began to look at it in every detail possible, trying to figure out what they were. All the time Martha just looked on. A few times Jack looked back at her then to the Doctor then back again with a sympathetic glace.

But what did he think? That she loved him? That was stupid of course. She didn't love him, couldn't love him. He was an alien.

But then again, it was so easy to forget sometimes. Yeah she had shown her interest in him, even kissing him once but he had just stepped away with a sad smile and told her it wasn't a good idea, that he didn't do that with companions.

But that was a lie wasn't it? He would do it with companions . . . well, one companion. Rose.

She knew he was mourning for her, that he loved her and she had tried to get him over it by being there instead. He had told her she was dead, died when the Cybermen and Daleks had shown up.

Had she abandoned him, and the Doctor gone into denial, so, in his mind, she was dead?

Martha sighed as her medical degrees were kicking in, to psychoanalyse the Doctor.

She felt gutted, but not quite heart-broken. She had hardly had enough encouragement in their relationship to consider herself jilted.

But, she guessed there had been a bit of pride in her assumptions. He was an alien, therefore he couldn't find her attractive. If he could, she reasoned, he would.

Now Martha realised he could . . . but not with her. She sighed as she leaned back against on of the console, the two men . . .well, one man and an alien, continued to look over the data.

None of them saw Nova lurking by the doorway.

8888888888

The Control Room was massive. It had a vast observation deck built straight into the side of the mountain. Rumours went around the teams that the hole had already been there, and they had just built into it, but Rose found that hard to believe.

Looking out, she could see the dull sun beginning to set . . . and in the distance, the glowing blue fog was advancing.

The old buildings of the habitat being swallowed slowly into its swirling embrace, always creeping closer, so slowly it was almost undetectable. . . but it was there, if you looked closely enough.

Around her was the constant hum of people talking over radios and Coms to different departments. The consoles blinking like Christmas trees with all the different systems and alerts, each monitoring the status of the base.

Rose walked towards Sinclair, noticing Nova was nowhere in sight. Sinclair turned at her approach casting his gaze over her form making the bile rise in the throat.

He gave her a leering smile that was simply begging for her to knock it off with a good roundhouse punch. She allowed herself to briefly fantasise about that sound his nose would make as the cartilage snapped under her fist, then reluctantly put it away.

The smile broadened, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and was enjoying her frustration. Well, it wouldn't be too hard to anticipate Rose's thoughts –they always turned violent around Sinclair.

He handed her the data pad, and she began to read it as he slowly began to prowl round her, trailing touches across her form. She tried to ignore the sick wave of revulsion as she read.

"One of the generators is not initialising. I need you out there to fix it, fast." He spoke into her ear, his breath caressing her skin.

It took Rose a second to realise what he wanted. Then she spun on him.

"You want me to go out there now! That's suicide!"

"But my Bad Wolf, if you don't then we all die. Men woman, all the children and me of course. Including the dear captain, and your two new friends."

He watched her closely, looking for her reaction.

Rose refused to allow him the pleasure of seeing her worry.

So he knew. She wasn't that surprised –he would find out sooner or later. But it seems he didn't know what the Doctor was. If she hesitated now, Sinclair would have him brought here –and in doing so, he would pass through the bio scanner. Rose could not let that happen.

"Very well sir." Rose spun on her heals and began to walk from the room.

"These men will escort you, my pet. Don't want you getting lost on the way to the hanger."

Sinclair gave a toothless smile from thin lips that reminded Rose of the Grim Reaper.

So he didn't want Jack or anyone else to know she was going out. She nodded, before she continued walking out.

They went straight to the hanger, the men guarding the entrance, despite the lack of personel. Night shift was changing with day and so there was a lull in between. Rose attached a tool belt around her waist for the generator. Not that she expected to get there alive.

Then she walked to Seperoth's pen.

"Seperoth, I need your speed this night." She bowed to him, giving him what courtesy she could. The black Aseroth walked from his pen to stand before her. All around the other Aseroth watched the exchange between their leader and their defender.

"Then I will carry you gladly, dear one." The deep regal tone replied, always with the sweet bird-like lilt.

Rose went and got the saddle and placed it reverently on Seperoth's back. Then she mounted the noble creature and his cloven hooves made a soft sound on the concrete were there should have been the harsh rap of nail. Aseroth were mountain dwellers, and so the cloven feet were needed to keep their footing, like the mountain goats on Earth.

They walked to the hanger door as one of the guards pressed the button for it to open, the red lights mounted in the roof began to spin like Police car lights in their warning that the door was opening. Rose held on to the large feathers that came from the crown of Seperoth's head. This would not hurt and acted in a way to guide him if she needed. She hardly did. The others all wore bridles but not Seperoth. He would not submit. Only the Bad Wolf could ride him.

_In a way, _she thought, with a touch of sadness,_ we are alike. Two defiant creatures, still serving masters we despise. I'm as much a captive as Seperoth –maybe even more so than him._

"You ready, my friend?" she whispered into his ear, it swivelled back like that of a horse's.

"Yes dear one."

"Then let's go."

There was a brief pause, as muscles beneath her bunched like springs, and then the leader of the Aseroth launched himself from the hanger and tore across the landscape, the hanger door closing behind them…locking off an chance of return.

_Or_, thought Rose with a touch of gallows humour, _escape_.

TBC….


	9. Chapter 9: Death of a Wolf

Chapter 9: Death of a Wolf

It was a desolate land. The wind whistled through the dry, dead branches of the few sickly trees that remained, sending a faint scream rippling through the air.

Rose felt goosebumps crawl along her skin. She could hardly believe that this place had not so long ago, flourished with life, the Colonist's terra-forming creating vast fields of corn and wheat. There had been forests for the birds, imported from earth, and acres of grass for the cattle.

But now, as Seperoth stood on the rocky outcrop, the scene was entirely different. Blue fog swirled in the distance, as though dancing malevolently to its own inaudible tune. True, the sun on this world could never have been called exactly radiant, but it had done its job, giving enough light to support the genetically engineered crops. Now, everything was crumbling to dust, practically before their eyes. Everything had died.

Seperoth pawed the ground uneasily, a low growl escaping his throat. He felt unnerved by the unnatural stillness, and worried about the blue mist. The feathers around his neck rustled like leaves in a breeze as they quivered, brushing against each other.

Rose knew exactly how he must be feeling –her relatively feeble human senses were put on edge by the strange environment –for a creature of intuition like Seperoth, it must be almost unbearable.

She stroked his neck, her hand brushing down the agitated feathers. "Easy Seperoth," she soothed, unsure just who she was trying to calm.

The Aseroth was not so easily placated. "I do not like this, dear one," he said, a rumble of nervous tension in his voice. "Even the ground quivers before it."

For a moment, Rose didn't understand. Then she looked down. Beside his feet, several small stones rattled as they jumped along the ground.

_Earthquake._

"They're getting more and more frequent," she whispered as she looked out at the scene before them. The fog was drawing closer.

"What is our plan?" asked Seperoth, as though he had noticed nothing. Rose would have liked to think it was her imagination –but she was too truthful with herself.

"Forgive me, friend," she said, absently ruffling the feather beneath her fingers. "The outer generator is failing. We have to make sure it does not fall."

Both human and Aseroth knew the possible ramifications of such a disaster. Without the barrier, everything left alive on this world would end up like the scene in front of them –dead.

Seperoth began to move, like a horse ready to spring into action, hooves flaring in perfect balance as he took in the area he would have to transverse. He would have to move fast, but he was not the ruler of his kind for nothing. He was at his prime, though to be truthful his son was soon catching him up.

"Go like the wind, my dear friend," said Rose, and like a spring he was off, the ground no challenge to his sure hooves. The ashes of life rose around them as Seperoth's hooves disturbed their rest. He headed straight as a bullet to the failing generator in the distance.

"You will need to work fast, Bad Wolf," Seperoth growled above the wind. "They are coming closer."

Rose allowed herself a second to look up, and saw that he was right. A ghost on the wind, the blue mist advanced, drawn to the generator like a moth to flame.

Or a shark to the scent of blood.

She would only have moments.

Forcing herself to stay calm, she pried off the outer casing to reach the control panel, which was on the outer side of the shield.

"Command, I am at the generator. Let's run through the numbers" Rose spoke into her headset as she brought up the shield diagnostics.

"Receiving you Bad Wolf, check connector 4 alpha 3"

"Checking 4 Alpha 3, 4 Alpha 3 working normally." Rose replied as she got a green light on her end.

"Okay, Check 5 Beta 9" The male technician responded. Sounds like Mike, Rose mused, he was usually on now. Rose was drawn back to the moment by a red light.

"Ah, it's 5 Beta 9 with the problem, looks like a lead has been corroded by some strange substance. I'll send it up the tube for analysis." Rose placed the broken wire in a cylindrical box and placed it in the tubing that ran from all the Generators. These tubes were maintenance tubes, if you needed a certain tool that you had not anticipated they would travel down the tubes to the generators. The tube also housed all the power cables that led to the fusion reactor at the centre of the base.

Pity they weren't big enough to fit people.

Rose took out another bit of cable and attached it to the right conduits; she was rewarded with the building hum of power as the systems power supply was restored. She turned to walk back into the protective shield, only to be bounced back by it.

"What the..?" she exclaimed from her position on the floor. Seperoth tried to walk through it also, but he met the same resistance.

"The shield has been raised," he growled, head feathers rustling angrily. "We cannot pass through!"

"Command, this is Bad Wolf. What the hell are you playing at?" Rose growled down the link.

"Something wrong, my pet?" the sickly voice of Sinclair dripped from the speaker, full of triumph and elation.

"Sinclair, open the shield."

"I don't think I will. You have out lived your usefulness. Ironic, isn't it? You were supposed to be this great saviour of the past. But no, you're just a lost little girl."

She could almost see his smile in her mind, the greasy expression, like oil sliding across a dinner plate.

"You really don't want to do this Sinclair," she said, forcing herself to stay clam. Anger would not make him open the shield.

"What? You think your little Captain is going to hurt me?"

The ridicule in his voice snapped the last vestiges of her self-control.

"No," she said, and she was deadly furious. "You will face something far worse than you have ever met in your entire, worthless life!" she shouted at him down the link. "You will meet someone who will give you no second chance, no matter how much you beg!"

"We shall see," Sinclair replied, and cut off the feed.

For just a fraction of a second, every single curse word Rose had ever heard in her life rushed through her mind.

But this was no time to give way to anger.

Rose ran over to Seperoth and leapt onto his back. He spun, unsure of which direction to take.

Rose needed to come up with an idea, she needed Jack. Most of all she needed the Doctor.

She ripped out her communication booster.

_What would Sato do?_ she thought frantically. _What would Sato do?_

An idea came to her, an idea she had been given a long time ago while she had been watching the Torchwood's tech genius work her magic.

Rose ripped prised off the back and moved one wire over. The device sparked, but then linked.

"Thank you Sato" she whispered. If she ever got back to the base alive, not to mention back to Torchwood, she would kiss Toshiko Sato senseless for these little tid-bits about hacking into a com. system.

"Jack," she almost yelled, urgent and fighting back panic. "Jack can you read me?"….

8888888888

Martha sat watching as Jack and the Doctor poured over the information that this Torchwood had gathered on these creatures in the mist.

"Kind of reminds me of the movie the Fog," Martha commented off-handedly.

"What?" the Doctor glanced up.

"I just said, this all reminds me of the movie the Fog. You know, when those dead sailors come out of the fog and nearly kill everyone in that sleepy town."

"Oh, I love that movie," Jack commented leaning against the console he had been working on. Did you watch the original version or the re-make?"

"Oh, original all the way," smiled Martha.

"Can we get back on topic, please?" the Doctor asked, rolling his eyes. Some things never changed.

They were interrupted by Rose's voice; crackling in over Jack's wrist device.

"Jack! Jack can you read me?"

"Barely Rosie. Why aren't you using the main link?"

"Because Sinclair has locked me off the link, and to earn himself even more brownie points, he's locked me outside the shield." Rose's voice was weak through the connection, almost cutting out once or twice.

"What?!" Jack was shocked.

"I can't pass through, be careful, Jack, he's up to something…Shit!"

There was a sudden squeal over the speaker, and the buzz of a sonic blaster powering up.

"Rose?" Jack and the Doctor shouted simultaneously.

The wrist device was silent for a second, then:

"I'm here, but I'm in trouble."

"Just hang on Rose," the Doctor's voice was deceptively calm, listening to him, Jack would never have guessed that his eyes were wide and a faint dew of sweat was lining his forehead. "We'll get the shield down, back in time for tea. Least you don't have to hop this time!"

He was rewarded by a low chuckle, followed by a grunt from Seperoth.

Jack and the Doctor ran back to the console, where Jack pulled up the link to the main control core. From there on the Doctor tried to over-ride the system control.

"Come on, come on!" the Doctor snarled, but it was no good. He was blocked at every turn.

"Try the back-up system" Jack came by his side showing him the way

"Yes! I can lower the shields! Hang on Rose we nearly have it!" the Doctor shouted the last bit at Rose.

"Sorry to disappoint."

Jack spun around.

Nova was behind them. And he wasn't alone.

There was a cocking of guns as both men were pulled away from the console. In the corner, Martha struggled futilely under the grip of three men.

"She'll be killed!" The Doctor yelled, straining uselessly. Even Time Lord strength wasn't much good against lasers.

"Don't waster your breath Doctor," snarled Jack. "There's no love lost between him and Rose."

"Aww, is the poor Captain going to loose his skirt?" a came voice from behind them. the pair looked back to see Sinclair sitting like a king on a throne at the command centre.

"Damn you Sinclair!"

"Shall we watch how the Bad wolf does?" the screen next to the one showing Sinclair changed from the spinning Torchwood embalm to a camera showing the outside.

They could see Rose atop Seperoth; the blue gas was advancing faster now. She shot randomly out in a vain attempt to hold it back. Rose was trying to stay near the shield so she could pass through quickly, but if she remained there she would surely die.

"Jack?" Rose's voice came again over Jack's wrist device.

"I'm sorry Rosie, they have us. Try…." but he was cut off with a grunt of pain as Nova struck him across the face. He then proceeded to take the device off Jack's wrist after some scuffling. The Doctor and Jack were straining at their captors, trying to do something, anything to help Rose.

"I'm sorry Ma'am" Nova said sarcastically down the link "seems your friends are busy. But don't worry. I'll keep them entertained." With a smile, Nova dropped the wrist device to the floor –and stood on it

"No!" Jack exclaimed. He looked up at Nova, and there was a savage light in his eyes as he stared at him. Involantarily, the man took a step back. "You'll scream when I finish with you, if she dies…"

The Doctor looked at Sinclair with black eyes. "If she dies," he interrupted, in a voice cold as death, "this planet is ash."

"We shall see." Sinclair smiled, as if he had found a new toy.

8888888

Rose heard the com. sizzle as the connection was cut once more. She was on her own.

Seperoth reared on his hind legs, then let out a screaming hiss as the gas came forward a moment, swiping out like a claw.

She pulled on the feathers on the right side; he must be frightned out of his wits for Rose to need to guide him. He swung round like a well-trained horse and took off as directed.

"Seperoth, easy, calm. I need you calm, my friend," she tried to soothe him, his nostrils were flared, his eyes wide. The bit was covered with foam in his terror. Slowly he came to himself as he distanced himself from the fog.

But Rose had no illusion of escape.

There was nowhere to go; the land would soon be devoured. Even as they ran she could see it before her. Seperoth slowed to a stop at her command. The gas was already at the shield behind her. They were trapped in a gauntlet, their backs to the sea cliff.

"There is no hope dear one," Seperoth stated sadly. "What will become of my people? Of my son?"

"I will get you back to them, then I will free them all. The Doctor will take you back to your home world. I swear" Rose hugged him from the back of his neck.

"Not even you can promise that,"

"Have I ever failed you?" she asked him.

"No, you have protected us from him, at such a cost to you. I have smelt him on you."

So, even Seperoth knew that Sinclair had taken her.

But this was no time for revisiting the nightmares of her past.

"Then believe in me," she urged, her voice sure as her mind was not.

Seperoth turned his head to look at her, regarding the frail being that sat upon his back.

"Always, Time's Guardian." He nodded in respect to her, the bow a lesser Aseroth would give to a leader.

They had backed up against the cliff. A few more moments and they would be ripped to shreds. Rose could see the glints of red, the lust for blood and hunger for flesh. There was nowhere to run.

Rose made her choice.

8888888888

In the console room, everyone watched as Rose and the Aseroth backed slowly against the cliff. The Doctor couldn't look away, couldn't tear his eyes from the scene unfloding before him.

He was helpless. It was not a feeling the Doctor had ever enjoyed, but now –

There was no way out, no way to help her. But he could not accept it,. He couldn't lose her like this, not so soon after finding her; the universe would not be that cruel. He was dimly aware that he was whispering her name.

Jack was screaming at Sinclair, and then he was silent, as a nod to Nova permitted another blow to the face.

"Hmm, I wonder. What she will do? Go in guns blazing,do you think? Or just to stand there and let the inevitable happen?" Sinclair spoke as if he was talking about the weather.

"Oh look, it seems she favours the guns blazing approach."

Every eye locked on a screen that showed the final moments of the strongest woman any of them had ever known. Seperoth running full pelt to the waiting aliens. She would go out in a blaze of glory, torn to shreds as she fought with her last breath.

"Nooo" the Doctor heard a moan before he realised it was coming from his own lips. The distance became less and less between Rose and the gas, when at the last instant Seperoth spun round and headed for the cliff edge. Legs pumping, stretching to full length as he poured every thing that he was to give them the speed they needed. Then as the reached the edge, they jumped from the cliff and into oblivion…

"NOOO!" a scream echoed by two voices as the screen went blank.

Sinclair sneered, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Well, it seems she chose suicide. Such a cowards way out."

"Sinclair, if you believe in a god I suggest you make piece with him." The Doctor's voice was as cold as ice. There was no compassion, no hope for mercy. Just telling of a simple truth. "I give no second chances."

"Bring them to me" was all Sinclair would say, safe on his throne….

TBC...

KITG: yes, i know i'm evil :P


	10. Chapter 10:The Packs Lament

Chapter 10: The Packs Lament.

They were led down the long hall-way, upwards to the control room on the highest level.

All three were silent as the grave as they were frog-marched towards the seat of power. Martha straining under the rough hands of the guards, Jack mouthing silent curses as he stared, and the Doctor — well, Martha wasn't quite sure what the Doctor was doing.

To look at him, you might have thought he didn't even care. His face was completely blank, his eyes as cold and dead as two brown pebbles. But his hands gave it away, —they clenched and unclenched as a single tense line ran down his neck. Showing, beneath the stoicism, there was a fire, hotter than the surface of the sun, waiting for the Doctor's control to slip, just for an instant, and let it out. . . .

But she could also see grief in the bowed head and his quivering shoulders, as if he were holding back the waves of grief by sheer power of will.

Jack and Martha's gazes met for a moment, then broke as Jack was shoved forward, —but the moment was enough. There was pain in his eyes, pain and loss and a deep, grief. . .  
It was like coming across someone naked , —physiologically, if not literally, and she found herself wishing she hadn't seen the bared emotions.

For the first time, Martha realised how deeply Rose must have been entwined in these men's lives. She had made her home in their hearts, and they were shattering now at the new loss of her.

Before, the Doctor could have drawn comfort that she still lived in the alternate reality, but now she was dead. Her life ended by her own will as she and the Aseroth had run head long off that cliff. Martha had no idea what the water was like on this world. Acid? Liquid Nitrogen? What?

From the soldiers reactions there must have been no chance of survival, which made Martha wonder why Rose had chosen to end her own life? To save the Doctor and Jack seeing her ripped to shreds by the things in the fog. Had she thought of them as she had made her decision?

Martha laid her hand on the Doctor's arm, as best as her captors would allow, but he didn't even seem to register the contact. He kept walking, blind to everything around him. His mind was in another place, replaying the same scene over and over before open eyes.

They were herded into a lift, the three of them in the centre so they could hardly breathe, let alone move. The lift ascended the mountain, the floor numbers nearly reaching triple digits.

Most of them found the wait negligible, but it never seemed to end for one lonely girl. She felt abandoned by the one she trusted the most, betrayed and lost, she could find no comfort in his eyes, they were hidden from her lost in the blazing pain he held within him.

Finally, with a ping the lift arrived on the top floor. Inside was a mirage of blinking lights almost looking like some over zealous Christmas decorator gone mad. They were prodded in the back by several gun barrels. They all stepped out, passing through, what looked like to Martha to be an airport metal detector. She passed through and nothing happened, Jack followed her with the same result. The Doctor however was a different story as always, as soon as he stepped through alerts started blaring.

"Alert, Alert. Alien detected!"

"Well, well. This becomes more interesting by the moment. To think she was hiding an alien under my nose. Naughty girl" A voice came from the command position, the chair turned to show Sinclair smug on his little throne.

He probably would have said more, but he didn't. Before another word could pass his lips, the Doctor _growled_ and launched himself at Sinclair.

Before anyone could so much as blink, Time Lord reflexes had slammed the man against the chair, the Doctor's hand around his throat, timeless eyes alight with the madness of fury and grief.

His shoved his face in close, close enough to bite him, and as he looked into those timeless, ancient eyes, Sinclair knew fear.

"You are worthless," the Doctor spat, spittle on his lips in his rage. "You aren't worth the primeval ooze you crawled from. You have no idea what you have just done. The Storm is coming."

And then, it was all over. The Doctor was pulled off the Commander; it was as though no one else had even heard the Doctor speak.

Sinclair was ruffled. More than that, the Doctor had actually succeeded in frightening him. He had no idea what he was up against.

The Doctor was slammed back again by the guards that had accompanied them, this time his hands bound in sonic cuffs behind his back. His gaze never left Sinclair.

"Well, you're a strong one," he goaded, angry at himself for yielding to fear. The Doctor would pay for that. "Just like she was at the beginning. But I'll break you, just as I broke her."

"Shut up, Sinclair," Jack shouted, blocking Sinclair's taunting. He did not want the Doctor to know what the man had done to Rose, not now. He knew the Doctor would do something stupid in his rage. How could he not? Rose had had to sit on him to prevent him doing something equally stupid when he had found out.

"Oh, friend of yours, is he? Don't you want him to know what I did to your little flower?" Sinclair laughed and turned away. With a wave of his hand he spoke to the guards.

"Take them to the Interrogation room, I shall be there shortly. The Time Bubble needs another testing first."

"Sinclair, don't be stupid, you can't activate the bubbl…." Jack was cut off by a blow to the face from Sinclair's guard.

"You do not presume to order me around Captain. I am in control here. Not you!" With that, they were dismissed and pulled from the room….

8888888888888888

The deep hum grew in the centre of the mountain, as the Time bubble was primed once more. Oscillating blue light and arcs of white lightening shot between the machine receptors as quantum physics was bent to one man's will.

The bubble began to form, bright light as the power pulsed inside, alternating from blue to red as the Vortex tunnel was contained in this sphere. But time was not meant to be wielded like this and the continuum of time convulsed. It abhorred this abomination as the bubble expanded.

With a flash of gold the Bubble began to loose containment. Men and women fled from the lab, but it would do no good. The bubble exploded, shattering time in its wake. Men were turned to dust as time accelerated; others were turned into nothing but the most basic building blocks of life.

But this time there was also another side effect; this time it pulled creatures from different times and places to this point. The monsters of nightmares and things of the past and future. This was no longer the flow of time; this was shards of glass cutting into each other.

"SCANNING-AREA. SENSORS-IN-DI-CATE-HU-MAN-LIFEFORMS-IN-THE-AREA" a voice from the past or was it the future, the white casing of this being glinting as the light caught the gold nodules.

Then more forms in the shadows, silver men, with sightless eyes. Their metal bodies shining bright silver. These were of the past. Old forms that would be upgraded soon.

Still time fractured, in the interrogation room the Doctor howled in pain as he felt Time scream her horror. Beyond hearing another voice joined him, hidden in the depths of the base another being was ripped from his place in time to this point. He was alone without direction, his mind splintered as he tried to realise whom and when he was.

With a glow of blue he left the place he found himself, the narrow air ducts his only escape….

888888888

The Doctor became aware of someone calling his name. The pain that had seared through his mind was now just a dull ache. He blinked open his eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning.

"Hey Doc, you all right?" he focused on Jack.

"Don't call me Doc. Makes me feel like I have just stepped out of Back To The Future," he mumbled. His mouth felt like sand paper. "What happened?"

"It was like you were having some kind of Seizure," that was Martha's voice. He turned to see her bound in a chair,—looking down he saw he was similarly restrained, as was Jack. The three of them looked like they were about to be electrocuted. Their hands and feet were held in place by metal straps.  
They could move their heads and torso, but that was about it.

"It felt like Time was being ripped apart! Just what were you guys playing with here?" The Doctor snarled at Jack, making the other man blink a moment at the anger in it.

"They called it a Time Bubble, I never got a good look at it. But I assume it's a quantum bubble. Sinclair said he was trying to contain the fog in it, but now I'm not so sure."

"Never assume Jack, thought you would have learned that by now"

"I know, I know. Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups," Jack replied in a deadpan voice, Martha giggled and the Doctor gave a shadow of a smile.

"Very good, Captain. Now we have to get out of here. Stop whatever Sinclair is doing. Find Rose. Then leave."

"Doctor. . ." Jack tried to interrupt, a sad note in his voice.

"She's not dead, Jack. I won't believe she's dead, not after all this!" If Jack could, he would have put his hands up in a placating manor.

"Okay, okay. But first we have to get out of here"

"Are we tired of my hospitality already?"

They all looked up to see Sinclair standing in the doorway. He smiled a moment, then nodded to the guards. They began to un-strap Martha and take her from the room.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let me go!" she struggled in their grips.

"Let her go!"

"Oh come now, this is no place for a lady. . ." he smiled.

"You brought Rose in here," Jack snarled.

"Bad Wolf was no lady. She was a thing to do with as I pleased. Surely you can understand that?"  
He smiled at the Doctor. "So, just who and what are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the Doctor looked to the wall, ignoring Sinclair as though none of this, —the cell, the restraints or, the man in front of him —were real.

""I would, that's why I asked." Sinclair pressed a button and Jack screamed in agony as electricity pulsed through his body.

"Stop it! I'm nothing important, I'm just a traveller!"

"Yes but what's your name?" He pressed the button again.

Prepared this time, Jack fought back the cry of pain as the pulse of energy ripped through him. He bit his lip until a drop of blood splattered the floor, but he refused to make a sound.

"A higher setting, maybe?" mused Sinclair.

"I'm just called the Doctor, now stop it!"

Sinclair lifted his hand from the button, and Jack collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Doctor? Now why does that ring a bell? Wasn't my Bad Wolf involved with some Doctor," his gaze turned inwards as he tried to remember.

"She wasn't yours."

"Oh but she was. Shall I tell you exactly how I broke her, how she pleaded?"

Sinclair was right in the Doctors face now, close enough to see his pupils shrink, close enough to hear the tortured, barely audible sound that passed his lips.

"Don't…listen . . . Doctor" Jack gasped.

"What Captain, don't you want your friend to hear this?" Oh, Sinclair was loving this.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, unable to even picture his Rose in such a position.

"Surely you can't be that alien…or perhaps you are. But I'm sure you know what rape is." Sinclair was talking as if he was relishing a fine wine, not telling of someone's despair and loss of hope.

"No…" the Doctor whispered, the word ripped from his throat without his volition.

"Oh yes. She pleaded, begged me to stop, to let her go. But oh she was so sweet, hardly used. I couldn't let such a precious thing go."

"Shut up!" the Doctor snarled.

"What, don't you want to hear my tale?" Sinclair pouted in mock disappointment. "Don't you want to know exactly how I broke her?"

"When you die, I will be there to savour every moment of it, no matter how long it takes!" the Doctor shouted in cold rage.

"We'll see —" Sinclair was interrupted when a small screen lit up, showing a picture. Clear in the centre was the TARDIS.

"Wait….Doctor? The Doctor, of course. Oh this is priceless; you have no idea how happy that makes me. You can help me with a little problem, and I will be heralded as the man who captured the alien the Torchwood was founded for."

"Well that is not much incentive to help you," the Doctor replied sarcastically. But even though his words might have been light, his eyes still showed the darkness. You could almost hear the denial ringing around his mind.

_No, no no no. Not Rose. Not Rose. No._

"Well if you don't, I'll kill our good Captain here." With that he pressed the button once more, causing Jack to scream….

And no one saw the bright blue eyes blazing with rage, as they looked through the air duct at the scene……

KITG:oooooh such a twist :) see you in time :) 


	11. Chapter 11:Colliding Times

Chapter 11: Colliding Times

Sinclair had finally tired of extracting information from the Doctor. And, more to the point, Jack couldn't take much more. The chair, forcing electricity through his body at every press of Sinclair's device, had completely sapped his strength, and he lay limp against the high back, unable to move.

With a final smirk, the equal of which the Doctor had not seen since his last encounter with the Master, Sinclair left the room. The Doctor's eyes followed him all the way, the Time Lord's dark gaze boring into the back of the stupid ape.

As the door shut behind him with a dull _clang_, Jack's head slumped onto his shoulder, showing the final weakness he had refused to allow his captor to witness.

The Doctor turned his full attention to the Time Agent, and quickly made sure that he was still breathing. After a moment, Jack's chest rose shallowly, and a faint rasp of a breath escaped his lips.

Then, there was a slight _click_, as the metal clasps that pinned them to their chains disengaged. The Doctor hastily detached himself, and gave Jack a gentle examination. He checked his pulse –erratic, but strong, and his breathing –shallow and constant.

Suddenly, he paused. There was something tingerling in the back of his mind, like an itch just out of reach, or a fly buzzing by his ear. For the life of him, though, he couldn't work out what it was.

Before he could try and analyse it further, however, his thoughts were interrupted by Jack. He gave an unconscious groan as he begun to come round.

"Come on, Jumping Jack flash," the Doctor smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. The smile took on a maniacal hue as dark thoughts played through the Doctor's mind. "How do you feel?"

"Like a bug that's just flown into a bug zapper," Jack groaned, lifting his head unsteadily –right before the Doctor punched him.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed from his new position on the floor.

Before the Doctor could reply, the door opened. Both men froze, only to relax again as they took in a neutral faced guard.

Jack recognised him as Wilkinson, one of Rose's most loyal men.

On the tray he carried were two bottles of water, food and some medical supplies.

"Thought you could use these, Captain."

"Thanks Wilkinson, but you shouldn't have. If Sinclair catches you . . ." Jack trailed off, either unwilling, or unable to continue.

"It's okay," he assured Jack, still avoiding eye contact. "He's too engrossed in the blue box now. Besides, Bad Wolf would have wanted me to help you. I just wish I could have done more."

Wilkinson looked away, eyes expressive beyond anything he could have said, and the Doctor understood instantly. Rose might have had this Wilkinson's affection –certainly his respect and his loyalty–and he was doing what he could for those who had belonged to her.

"We both do, but we know what would happen," said Jack gently, reading something the Doctor had obviously missed.

Wilkinson nodded in reply, fingers automatically going to the collar. The Doctor didn't miss the gesture, but there seemed to be another layer of meaning he didn't quite catch.

"What about the woman that was with us earlier?" the Doctor asked.

"Don't worry sir; Bad wolf's Squad will keep an eye on her. No one will touch one of Rose's friends if any of us have a say in it."

The Doctor knew he wasn't being fair, but he needed to know more. "We're locked up. You haven't done much about that."

Wilkinson met his gaze for the first time, and his face seemed to crumple inwards, a man reduced to tears, but fundamentally unable to cry.

"We don't always have a say, sir. But we do with your friend. Sinclair has no interest with her. He was going to give her to Nova's team so they could have some fun."

The Doctor knew exactly what kind of fun Wilkinson was talking about –and by the strange expression on his face –a kind of resigned horror –Wilkinson knew too.

"Thanks Wilkinson, you'd better go." Jack had pulled himself painfully to his feet, and clapped the man on the shoulder.

"Yes sir."

Wilkinson saluted Jack, and the Doctor almost smiled. It was the one last courtesy Wilkinson could give his old commander –then, without another word, he walked from the room.

Jack pulled himself unsteadily over to the tray, sagging against the wall and allowing himself to slide downwards, wincing slightly.

"I believe you punched me, Doctor," Jack said as he finally folded his body into a sitting position with a pained sigh.

"Why didn't you help her?" the Doctor growled, coming into a crouch before Jack.

"I couldn't." Jack looked down, unwilling to let the Doctor see his face. His head shot up again seconds later though, as the Doctor punched the wall beside Jack's head.

"Couldn't, or wouldn't?" he demanded harshly. "Were you afraid of a little shock to the system? Or did you just enjoy the idea of Rose being raped? Think you might be able to join in at some point?!"

The Doctor was snarling in his face –and then, he was falling back from a punch to the jaw. Jack threw himself at the Doctor, his physical pain forgotten in the background emotion of a far stronger agony.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The look on Jack's face was pure and utter rage mixed with incomprehension, that he couldn't believe the Doctor actually thought that of him. Yes this Doctor was very different.

"You think I didn't want to help her? That it wasn't killing me inside?!"

"Well, why didn't you?" the Doctor snarled back. Despite his prone position, he was still furious.

"I couldn't! Oh, I wanted to. I wanted to gut Sinclair every time I saw him, every time I saw him leer at Rose, and I knew that, as soon as I was gone, he would. . ." Jack's voice broke, and he climbed off the Doctor's now limp form.

Without looking at him, Jack reached across and began smearing salve on his electric burns. When he spoke again, his voice was raw with pain.

"He would tell me beforehand, you know that? He would tell me exactly what he was going to do to her, and then he would send me off to some remote posting where I couldn't help, where I couldn't do _anything._ And even if I had tried, Sinclair wouldn't have killed me," the Doctor began to speak, but Jack held up a hand.

"He wouldn't have killed me," he repeated, "he was far too devious, too malevolent for that. If I'd tried to defend Rose, she, and anyone else he fancied would have died. Inside the collar is a sheathed needle that contains Traxilum Venom. Even you know how powerful that stuff is."

The Doctor just lay there on his back, his brown jacket fanning out around him as he breathed heavily in his anger. A tear leaked out from the corner of his eye as the scenes of Rose with Sinclair played in his mind, without mercy or relief.

"I was there as much as I could be for her, the first time…God" The Doctor rolled his head so he could look at Jack.

The Time Agent's hands were limp in his lap as his head rested against the wall, his gaze on the ceiling. He looked like a broken man.

"I was out on patrol. By the time I came back he had already . . . had her. I found her in her room sobbing. She wouldn't –or couldn't –tell me what was wrong. I had to interrogate the officer. The man was in pieces. He had tried to help Rose, to defend her, only for Sinclair to kill his two younger brothers with a press of a button."

The Doctor looked at the desolate form of his friend and finally began to understand. He stayed quiet, needing to hear this –needing to fuel his hatred at Sinclair. He had never felt like this to anything but a Dalek. But at least a Dalek did what it did because it was in its nature, not out of malice.

"He killed himself shortly after that, couldn't live with the thought that he had caused his brothers' deaths. I held Rose as she cried. She tried to be strong, Doctor, for my sake. For _me_! I told her I was going to make him pay; make him scream before I was through. But she begged me not to, made me swear I wouldn't do anything. She knew what he would do. He wouldn't kill her or me –just everything we might possibly care for. Including the Aseroth."

Jack looked now at the Doctor as he came to sit beside him; the Doctor took the salve from Jack's limp hands and began treating the burns as Jack allowed himself to relax a fraction.

"Why was Rose so attached to the Aseroth?" he asked, curious as to how his Rose and the Aseroth had become so intertwined.

"Seperoth is the leader of his clan. Most of the other Aseroth either submitted or died –but his position shielded him, a little anyway, and he refused to let anyone ride him. Nova wanted the black steed for himself, like some kind of status symbol." Jack gave a bitter laugh.

"When Seperoth threw him, Nova was going to shoot his son, Arokh. Rose got in the way, and probably saved his life. She was hit in the leg by the sonic gun, crippling the tendon. She couldn't walk back to the base, and Nova left her outside to be killed by the fog."

Jack gave a thin smile as he remembered the look on Nova's face with what happened next.

"I was going mad. My own men held me back, to stop me killing Nova –they were smarter than I was. They knew what would have happened then. I must have known too, but I didn't care.

"And then, who should walk in but Rose. She was perched on Seperoth's back, with his son walking beside him."

The Doctor gave a low whistle, and Jack nodded. "It was pretty incredible. Rose somehow managed to slip off his back, and made me help her pay her respects. She gave him a low bow –traditional by the way," he added. "The Aseroth don't exactly have hands, so they give bows of various degrees to indicate respect. So no one was more shocked than me –and Nova –when Seporeth gave Rose the mark of respect; the bow of equal-to-equal. After that, his pen was the only place she felt safe. When I could, I covered for her . . . gave her some time with him . . ."

Jack's words slowed as his eyelids drooped. There was something about torture that took the strength right out of you.

"Sorry for punching you, Jack," the Doctor said finally.

"It's okay Doc. If I was you, I'd punch me. I couldn't help her. I didn't help her. I was useless."

"You did," the Doctor insisted. "Just by being there for her, Jack. Which is more than I did."

The Doctor hated Sinclair but he also hated himself. He should have known she was back in this reality, should have found her sooner. If he had none of this would have happened, they would have been travelling the stars like before.

"Oh don't start that Doctor, you didn't know."

"But I should have . . ."

"Oh, really? How? You're not a god. You can't know everything."

"I should have noticed the TARDIS was still translating for Rose, should have noticed the power drain. . . " and that broke the argument.

Why hadn't the TARDIS told him? He knew the old ship cared for Rose like a member of the family. After being joined by the Time Vortex, Rose had become closer than anyone had been to his TARDIS, bar another TARDIS.

"Oh Rose will probably soooo kill me for telling you this. But she didn't want the TARDIS to let you know."

"Why the hell not?" he looked at Jack, shock written on his face

"Rose was scared, that you had moved on. Forgotten about her. That you were dead. She had no idea how much time had passed for you. She thought you had moved on"

"Stupid ape."

"That's roughly what I said"

"So, we need to get out of here." The Doctor walked to the door, looking at the control panel.

"Sonic screwdriver?" Jack asked, hopeful.

"Left it in Rose's room."

"Bugger."

Both men's heads snapped up as a voice with a northern accent came out of nowhere.

"Maybe I can help you with that?"

The itch in the Doctors head became a buzz, as the grill of the air duct fell to the floor.

And from the opening stepped a man in a black leather jacket and big ears.

"What the hell?" was all Jack could muster.

88888888888

Sinclair was becoming more and more aggravated with the stupid blue box that was sat before him; it was if it was laughing at his efforts. On the floor lay ruined machinery as they had tried to force their way inside to the police box.

They had managed to open the little door that held an old phone, he had thought that was something.

Assuming it might have been some sort of ID log-in, he had picked it up –only to be thrown across the room with enough force to break a rib.

He heard the sound of a smug kind of hum as if saying, "You deserved that" and also, some regret that it hadn't killed him. But that was absurd. It was just a machine, after all.

It had gotten to the point where he could swear he felt waves of malice radiating from the box, as if he had done something to it.

But to his knowledge he had done nothing to it, except try and get in, of course. _Maybe it's some kind of defence system_, he thought, though at the back of his mind in primitive warning he knew it was something more.

The TARDIS herself was seething –and that was putting it mildly. If she could have manifested herself, she would have gone straight out there and turned the man to dust. That first touch Sinclair had placed on her blue outer shell had shown her his mind –shown her the callous cruelty, the pleasure he took in other men's degradation, his joy at their failures and their pain.

And it had showed her what he had done to her Rose Tyler. This man would scream for what he had done. She had got her chance when he had placed his hand on the phone ear peace, but she hadn't used enough power.

She could now feel the Doctor's anger and she knew that he had found out what had happened to Rose. She had felt Rose's fear through her connection to her, but not enough to see what was happening, not until now. So the TARDIS tried to find any trace of Rose Tyler outside the base.

But she could not find anything, even the connection to help her translate was lost, and that did not bode well. If being in an alternate reality could not sever the connection only one thing could…death. The faithful TARDIS searched anyway, for her Doctor and for Rose.

She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't! They had been part of one another, the last TARDIS and the Bad Wolf. She considered Rose Tyler as a younger sister. Strong, but needing guidance.

What the TARDIS actually found, she did not expect. The console bleated in exclamation as she found two signatures of the Doctor, one showing different time tracks to the other. She had felt Time convulse when the bubble had been activated and had actually screamed along with the Doctor. It had felt like somehow had looked into her heart, and ripped it out with a ragged claw.

She probed deeper now, and got an image of a craggy face with shadowed eyes, and big ears.

So his ninth incarnation had been pulled from his time line. This could be either really good . . . or unbelievably bad. From past experiences, when more than one Doctor was around, things tended to get worse before they got better.

As if her thought heralded the calamity, she felt the outer shields fail from beyond the walls. The gas was coming –the Time bubble had finally succeeded in smashing a hole in the wall, probably aging some more vulnerable part of the machinery to dust.

She could feel the stupid apes running around like headless chickens as the shield failed to hold them out. Soon, the fog would find its way into the base –and that would be the end of it.

If she could the TARDIS would have rolled her eyes. _Gets worse before it gets better_, she might have thought. _It had better get an awful lot better._

TBC

KITG: there we go people, another chapter for you. :)


	12. Chapter 12:Saving the Future with your p

Chapter 12: Saving the future with your past

For a moment, all Jack could do was stare in complete open-mouthed shock.

He knew for a fact that the Doctor –his Doctor –was dead. He also knew for a fact that the Doctor was standing in front of him in all his leather-and-big-eared glory.

He was smiling, but his smile was about as reassuring as the grin of a shark before it bites a huge chunk out of your leg. His blue eyes were stone-grey, and cold as if they did belong in the ocean.

Jack looked over at the Doctor beside him –but he was no help. His gaze was riveted on his younger self, his face frowning as though trying to recall something just out of his mind's reach.

Finally, he pulled himself to his feet.

"You shouldn't be here, you know," he remarked.

"Stating the obvious, how original. So I turn into a pretty boy an' became stupid. Great future." The Doctor's voice was dry and humorous –but beneath the flippant tone. . . Jack felt his skin form goose bumps.

_Dangerous undercurrents,_ he thought.

"I'm not stupid!" the present Doctor tried to defend himself, but there was something missing from the banter –as though only half his mind was on the fight. "And I am not a 'pretty boy'," he added, imitating in a terrible Northern accent.

"I think you look kinda cute this time," Jack decided to try and soften the tension a little.

He would have had more luck telling a Dalek to pretty please go away and stop exterminating people.

From his place on the floor, he saw the Doctor's blue gaze break from his other self. Jack's heart sank. There was no recognition in those blue eyes.

Then the gaze was back between the two Doctors.

"Not helping Jack," the Doctor commented, turning back to his past incarnation. "As I was saying, I am not stupid. Crazy perhaps, but we were always absent minded."

"Great, I regenerate into a motor mouth too." The ninth Doctor walked past his future self and pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

With a slight whine and a click, he opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" ten asked. The ninth Doctor turned back to him.

"I was hoping you could tell me that. Maybe I am here to do this," and the old incarnation of the Doctor walked up to his future self and whacked him up the back of the head.

"OW! What was that for?" ten exclaimed, rubbing his hand over the spot on his head.

"For not taking better care of Rose. I would punch you but it always seems odd hitting myself." The ninth Doctor's eyes had become dark pools of anger. The dangerous undercurrents were rising.

The Doctor looked as though he wanted to argue . . . but the problem was, he agreed. Instead, he looked away, unable to meet his own gaze.

"Tell me this. Is she still alive?"

He looked up, deep brown eyes locked on swirling blue.

Neither of them said anything. There was no need for words.

But after a moment, the ninth Doctor spoke anyway. "I'll take that as a no shall I?" he asked. "So this is what I lead her to. I should take her home"

"She's not dead!" the tenth Doctor growled out.

"How do you know? How do you know she's not lying broken or ripped to shreds?" The ninth Doctor's face had shut down, no emotion flicking across his face.

"Shut up, she's not!" his voice almost broke. "She's not dead! Not Rose!"

"If you don't believe that…..then why are you still here?"

The Tenth Doctor froze at his past self's words. Why was he still in this little cell, why hadn't he run out to find Rose? Was it because deep down he knew she was dead?

Before Jack's eyes, the Doctor seemed to almost shrink. His eyes fell, his shoulders slumped –it was like watching something that had been supporting him from inside slowly crumble.

The Doctor he had first met watched with a stone face. This was wrong, the Doctor didn't just give up, and for both incarnations to just stand there was doubly so.

"Alright that's enough!" he shouted.

Both the Time Lords heads whipped around in his direction. "What would Rose think if she could see the both of you?" he demanded. "She'd give you the famous Tyler slap and tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourselves!"

Both Doctors raised a hand to their left cheeks as Jack mentioned the slap. "Now lets set this right. For Rose."

With that Jack stormed from the room. The two Doctors looked at one another before, with a smile, they followed the Captain.

888888

Sinclair watched through the monitors as the blue gas came closer to the base, passing the shield barrier that now flickered and died. Alarms blared across the base as those around him looked for direction.

"Commence lock down procedures," he barked out, entering a code into the computer. Men and women ran to their stations to begin the lock down. The base would become sealed to the outside world, not even air could pass through.

The base could survive for a time, with its internal air purifiers, but not forever . . . lights flicked green along the consoles as each door was sealed. Hydroponics, air purifiers, external doors, external air duct…wait. Sinclair looked alarmed, as one light remained red; it was for the external air duct about halfway up the mountain.

"Oi you, why is that still red, boy?" he demanded of the lad in charge of this bank, shouting like a drill instructor.

"We have a negative connection, sir, it won't close"

"Well, fix it!"

The lad played with the controls, as if flicking the switch over and over would make any difference. Sweat pouring down the lads face as his commander's eyes bored into the back of his skull. It was enough to make the bravest soldier sweat.

"Bring up the Camera in that area!" he demanded.

It was done and Sinclair watched as he was betrayed yet again….

8888888

"_Let us in.."_

"Did you say something?"

The man sitting beside Nova turned to his him as he asked the question.

"No sir, I didn't say anything" he replied, looking confused at his commanding officer.

"You did, you said something. Are you trying to wind me up?" Nova snarled.

"No sir" the man seemed terrified that he had somehow angered Nova. He was known for preferring Sinclair's style of punishment.

Nova scowled for a moment before turning back to what he was doing, looking over the base schematics.

"Let us in" 

Nova spun round on the man once more, grabbing the front of the man's jacket.

"It is you! Shut up, it's not funny!"

"I swear sir, it's not me!" The man held his hands up in a placating manor, which became wide-eyed fear was Nova brought out the control device that he had been given by Sinclair.

"Please sir," he begged, eyes wide with horror. "No, please dooo-aaaarck!"

Nova pressed the button, activating the needle holding the Traxilum Venom. The man screamed as he started to convulse, foaming blood forming round his mouth as with a hissing gasp he died, pupils lost in the blood that filled the eye-balls.

"_Let us in"_ again the voice, louder, insistent nagging.

"Shut up" Nova shouted at the assembled room. The seven men and two women looked at Nova like he was insane. He rounded on each of them eyes wide under their scrutiny. "What you looking at?"

Then one after another he pointed the control device at everyone in the room. They tried to flee, tried to escape but it was no use, they fell to the floor spasuming, screaming, hissing gasps. Then the silence, just the harsh rasps of Nova's heavy breathing.

"LET US IN!" 

Nova screamed, hands clutched to his head as the voice sounded now loudly in his mind, and insistent murmur like a leaky faucet, drip, drip, drip that slowly drove you insane, causing you to take a hammer to the faucet.

"_letusin,letusin,letusin,letusin,letusin,letusin,letusin"_

Drip, drip,drip,drip,drip

"LETUSIN,LETUSIN,LETUSIN.LETUSIN,LETUSIN,LETUSIN" 

Nova smacked his head with his fist trying to drive the sound out, never noticing his feet moving the outer rim, not seeing him walking towards the mechanism for External duct 7-b, never saw his fist smash the controls to the locking mechanism, never feeling the pain in his bloody, ripped hands as he tore at the wires..

"_We are in…"_

Nova screamed, but this time it would be his voice ending in the gargles hiss…..death by the Venom would have been a more pleasant prospect ….

888888

Sinclair watched in horror as new alarms blared to life, showing the gas spreading to the air ducts.

Nova was writhing in agony, and Sinclair watched in dismay as Nova was slowly skinned alive, flashes of talons and blood, the silence of the camera more terrifying if they had been able to hear his scream.

But then he dismissed Nova from his mind. The important thing here was ensuring his own survival.

"Re-route the air, go to secondary lock down!" he roared.

"We can't do that! The lower levels haven't been evacuated"

"I don't care! Just do it!"

"I can't…." Sinclair killed him with a flick of the button.

"Any one else fancy disobeying orders? No? Then get on with it!" He shouted kicking the dead body to one side. They re-directed the gas to the lower levels closing all other means of escape. Only the hanger would be spared, it was on an independent system, after all he might need to escape.

"Power up the Time bubble"

"But…" Another fell before he could voice his concern.

If Sinclair had bothered to listen, he would have know that the safety was down, the automatic cut off disengaged. But Sinclair didn't listen, so doesn't know.

He watched as another took the dead ones place powering up the bubble, the counter starting up, it would take longer to power up this time as the base power had to be re-directed..But no mater he had time, all the time in the universe.

Imagine Sinclair's surprise when he saw Jack Harkness walk in, and behind him came the Doctor. Lastly came a man Sinclair had never seen before, but it didn't matter.

He would enjoy killing them.

Sinclair raised the remote control, pointing it at the Doctor and Jack.

Jack smirked as nothing happened, but it was a predator's smile. Feral –dangerous.

Sinclair's eyes became wide as he pressed the button again and again, but the result was the same.

The man Sinclair had never seen before stared at him, and he met the man's eyes.

Their gazes didn't meet –they collided.

If sincalir had been more adept at reading men, he would have known that this was a man with nothing to loose, a man with a fury he couldn't even begin to pretend to understand burning inside him.

But he was not very good at reading his men. You didn't have to be –not when you controlled the collars.

But still, he knew, as instinctively as a man pulls his hand from the fire, that he was dangerous. Dangerous –and willing to kill.

Sinclair braced himself, ready for a fight, but he never even saw the hand that hit him. It was as if time stopped –one second the man in the leather jacket was across the room, the next Sinclair was on the floor, his face burning.

He cried out in pain, and blood dripped from his mouth. He felt a surge of fury as a tooth came loose under his tongue.

He would pay for that.

"Jack, tie him up and keep watch on him."

If "tie him up" was a euphemism for "torture him until his every breath is stained with a plea to die", his voice would still have sounded the same.

The Doctor had somehow reclaimed his long coat and was now wearing it like some kind of shield, an echo of the leather clad man beside him. "You," he pointed to one of the young, frightened men, "tell me what's going on."

"The gas has infiltrated the base," the boy replied, his fresh face pale with fear and uncertainty. "We're on lockdown."

"Where are Wilkinson and the stranger?" Jack asked from the floor, as he tied Sinclair up. He tightened the final knot, pulling until the hands and feet they held turned red, and then white.

"The tracker shows Bad Wolf squadron are in the hanger captain."

"Then Martha will be with them. If we're on second stage lock down," Jack looked to the man for confirmation, and he nodded "then the hanger is safe for now. It has its own air supply"

"Then the first order of business is to stop these creatures. If only I had a sample…"

"We have one…" a girl, no older then Rose voiced timidly, her white coat denoting her as a scientist.

"What?" The Doctor rounded on her, making his brown coat billow out.

The girl tried not to flinch at the raw emotions she saw swirling in those brown eyes.

"Bad Wolf sent a sample back through the tube system," she explained.

No one saw blue eyes narrow at the mention of the first two words. Then the ninth Doctor leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he watched from the shadows.

"Brilliant! Jack you stay here and do….captain-y things!" the Doctor waved his hand in a dismissive gesture then looked back to the girl. "Can you take us to the sample?"

The woman nodded, looking to the leather clad man that had come to stand beside the Doctor, arms still crossed and defensive. The woman, wearing a badge that identified her as Rita Chaperfield, ran ahead of the two incarnations of the Doctor, leading them down a snake path of sealed corridors to the secondary lab.

She showed them the sample, but after that she might have well vanished for all they would have noticed.

They worked with a speed she wouldn't believe, mumbling to each other in disjointed fragment as they did test after test, finishing each other's sentences and snapping up bottles and jars with breathless speed.

"If we just altered the parabiological strings of the . . ."

"xenofold base issue of the sample, that might cause a reaction . . ."

"And reverse the polarity of the neutron flow . . ."

"No . . . that won't work. Here, take this . . ."

"Look at this! Just there! I think this test's a . . ."

"Success! I think we've done it!"

"Brilliant!"

"Fantastic!"

Two cries of exultations as they came to the same conclusion. The Tenth Doctor ran to the com. system.

"Jack? Jack do you read?"

"Yeah, Doc, what can I do for ya?" he drawled, his spirits lifted by the triumph in the Doctor's voice.

"We've got a plan……"

TBC……

KITG: Sorry it's late. A trip to the hospital got in the way…


	13. Chapter 13:Shadow of Hope

KITG: I am soooo sorry for the long wait for this chapter. But another trip back to hospital was in order. Ooh the joys of Pneumonia….well at least it was for a good cause…no doubt if you live in England like me…you've experienced the gale force winds we have been having…..well my dad got the bright idea to take my niece to Cromer….I tagged along……we're walking down the railings looking at the sea…a Torchwood fic bouncing round my brain…so wasn't paying attention.

Next thing I know a wave comes out of nowhere drenching my dad and me but also washing my 4-year-old niece with it. My dad is not in the best of health after having a heart bypass. So into the drink I went….to say it was cold was an understatement. I got hold of her and dad pulled her in with the use of the life ring. But I had to swim back on my own…not fun I can tell you when the waves keep trying to pound you into the wall.

I managed to pull myself over the railings….but don't remember much after that…just waking up in hospital feeling like some one was sat on my chest. On the plus side all my time in hospital gave me time to write me Torchwood story…downside was when I got home I hated it and now have to re-write it. (sigh)

So again sorry for the wait….hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13: Shadow of hope

Martha spun round as the big metal doors of the base crashed down with a rumbleling clang. All around men and women ran to doors or Com systems to find out what the hell was going on. Wilkinson tried to find out any information, but all he got was the rush of static.

"What's going on?" Martha asked Wilkinson, laying a restraining hand on his arm to catch his attention.

"I'm not sure miss, the base is on contamination 1 lockdown. But I can't get any reply from control." Wilkinson's brow creased as he looked to the Com unit built into the wall, as if by some devine intervention, it would reveal the answer to the riddle.

"I wish I knew how the Doctor was…" Martha whispered.

"I know how you feel miss, I wish Bad Wolf was here" he smiled then looked to the ceiling. Around them the people began to sit down and talk among themselves. The lower level personal that have only had basic training, they sat, smoked and talked as if nothing had changed.

"You really respect her don't you?" she asked of Wilkinson. The more she got to talk with the man, the more she could see how trust worthy he was.

Wilkinson smiled to himself – a small, private smile.

"She just had this way about her, you know? The moment I saw her, I knew I could trust her, that she wasn't going to use you like _some _people in charge I know. I think the only things scared of her are the monsters."

Martha had to smile at that.

"Reminds me of someone else I know," she commented.

"What, your friend?"

"The Doctor, yes. He said once that the only thing monsters have nightmares about is him."

"I get the impression that Bad Wolf knew the Doctor before," Wilkinson mused, he sat on one of the steps around the side of the trucks, his back resting against the door.

The Torchwood symbol –a 'T' made from honeycombed hexagons, was embossed proudly on the side, as though trying to cover what lay beyond. Terror and destruction and death. Always death.

Sinclair had tarnished the symbol that once stood for protection for man against Alien enemies, dragged it down with him, until it wasn't anything more than a quick way to money and power.

Ruler of his own little empire.

"Yeah. The Doctor wouldn't tell me much; think it hurt too much for him to remember how he lost her. I only heard the story after we found her here. But I think she helped him a lot, he was broken and in pain from some war. She helped him deal with it."

"That sounds like Bad Wolf," Wilkinson laughed. "She's helped so many people here, shielding them from Sinclair. But shielding herself . . .?" Wilkinson's lip twisted in disgust, and his expression stiffened, as though he'd been caught out, but he made himself go on. "The beatings . . . they were nothing to what Sinclair did to her in the end."

Wilkinson looked disgusted at himself and at what Bad Wolf had to endure.

Martha suddenly had the feeling they were talking at cross purposes.

"She left something out, didn't she?" she said, not so much asking as confirming what she thought.

"When she told us how she got here, she didn't tell us everything."

"What exactly _did_ she tell you?" Wilkinson asked.

"Not much," Martha shrugged. "Of coming here from the past, and the beatings Sinclair gave her."

Wilkinson got that by-now familiar twist to his lip –the look of a man who has seen far too much of the ugly side of life to expect anything beautiful.

"I wish that was all he had done," he said quietly. "Sinclair has had nearly every female in this base, sometimes by permission . . . but more often, by force"

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, as if to gauge her reaction, to see if she understood.

"He raped her?!" she gasped, the pleading look in her eyes wishing it to be a lie.

"Yes," the word came out almost inaudibly, "and there was nothing any of us could do to help her"

"Oh god, when the Doctor finds out . . ." Martha shivered. "I don't think anyone will be able to stop him. Not even Rose. No wonder she kept quiet."

Now she understood what the Doctor said when she first started to travel with him, when he first told her of Rose….

"_Not that you're replacing her.."_

"_Never said I was."_

Martha knew she never had a chance, even if she had wanted to replace Rose. She was untouchable in that place, at least. They were very similar, those two. Matched in wits and strength, and temperament.

She had the Doctor body and soul. Just as he, from the sounds of it, had her.

Suddenly, every mans head whipped around to the sound of gunfire and screams, echoing from the corridor behind the door.

Wilkinson's squad moved like lightning. They had their guns in hand seconds after the first shot, moving with practiced precision as they crouched in combat positions. Wilkinson walked to the door, resting his ear against the cool meal. His head snapped back in alarm as a loud clang resounded from it.

"Open the Door! Oh God help us!"

The voice was shouting through the closed metal door, even as someone smacked furiously with open palms on the dull, cold surface.

"We can't!" Wilkinson shouted through the door. It's on lockdown!"

"Open the fucking door!"

The voice was no longer rational, panic clouding reason, the base survival instinct overriding the knowledge that there was nothing that could be done.

"I'm sorry," was all Wilkinson could say. He turned away from the door, moving his hand in signals to his men, getting them to check the other entrances. All were trying to block out the sound of people dying, men and women begging for their lives.

"Do something!" cried a woman, crouched in a corner with wide, frightened eyes. "My husband is out there!"

But there was nothing Wilkinson or his men could do. They were mere men, not gods. So he walked back to the truck and sat upon the step, his gun resting across his legs as he sighed heavily.

"What are you sitting there for? You're supposed to protect us!" she screamed, getting up and storming towards Wilkinson. He just looked up sadly.

"He's already dead, if he's met what I think has got into the base"

"And what do you _think_ is in" her voice full of scorn, grief and disbelief warring with rationality.

"The blue mist has breached the shield, and brought the monsters with it."

He looked her straight in the eye, and spoke with a calm that made Martha shiver. The woman blanched as her hand went to mouth; she began to stammer as hysteria began to grip hold of her.

"We've got to get out! We have to get out of here!" she started running towards the doors, punching in codes randomly.

"Michel!" Wilkinson called, Martha looked over seeing one of Wilkinson's team detach from his position. The Red Cross symbol was clear on his shirt arm as he reached into a pack at his side, bringing out what Martha knew for an agent compressor. He applied the compressor to her arm, and pressed. With a soft hiss, somehow distinguishable through all the noise, the screaming and the death, the woman collapsed in a limp pile.

"We'll lay her over here, sir." Michel picked up the unconscious woman, and set her down gently on the back of one of the flatbed trucks.

The Aseroth were in their pens, sad trilling sounds coming from them as they mourned the death of their leader. Martha felt so sad for them in their cages.

"Wilkinson," she called impulsively. When he looked at her, she asked, "Can't we let them out?"

Wilkinson looked to the penned creatures. Sinclair, from what he could see, had lost control and they deserved their freedom…beside Bad Wolf would have wished it so. He smiled and nodded before walking to the pen control.

"Arokh?" he asked, tentatively. The red Aseroth rose to his feet from beside his pregnant mate and nodded to Wilkinson –if Bad Wolf had trusted this one, then he would also.

"Yes, you of Bad Wolf?"

It was an unusual racial habit of the Aseroth in that they never really remembered names of aliens. They had remembered Bad Wolf's for her kindness, and Sinclair's for his cruelty. Perhaps it was a trait of the Aseroth, to show who they regarded as worth remembering. Wilkinson smiled.

"I'm going to let you all out," he replied, pressing in the code to override the pen controls. With a loud, repetitive clunk, all the pens opened letting the Aseroth walk out. They stretched and sighed to be able to move about.

Arokh kept beside his mate –and Martha thought, from what pitiful store of what she knew about the species, that her child, or foal, or calf, could not be long.

"Thank you," Arokh bowed to Wilkinson, who gave a quick nod in acknowledgement.

Martha flinched suddenly as the wet, hard sound of something fleshy hit the door. It sounded as though someone had tried to ram it with their shoulder.

Maybe one of the last survivors, Martha thought –then instantly changed her mind as the harsh, grating squeal of razor claws against steel sent shivers down her spine.

If the Doctor had been here, she would have reached for him. Automatically, she grabbed the nearest hand . . . then blushed self-consciously as she realised she was holding Wilkinson.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassed, but he just smiled, and squeezed her hand a little tighter.

He was, she realised, quite handsome, in a buff, soldier's way. Not to the extent that Jack was, of course, but then she was of the personal opinion that Jack's good looks were the love-child of Don Juan's libido and some pagan god from the mists of time. One of those ones who was always chasing women.

"Don't worry Miss Jones," he reassured her. "They won't be able to get in."

"Are you sure?"

Wilkinson nodded. "The door is well over two foot thick down here. The same for all the weapons lockers and vehicles –extra protection, you know."

he put an arm around her back in an attempt at a comforting gesture, and Martha leaned in to him, grateful for the support.

"So, you're from Earth?" he asked.

"Yeah, was a trainee doctor on earth before I met the Doctor. . ." she giggled at the sentence. "That sounds so strange when I say it out loud."

He laughed with her, "yeah, it does a little" but his eyes kept going back to the door, and to the persistent, chilling rasp of talons on metal.

Martha tried to act like she couldn't hear it. "So what about you?" she asked. "How did you end up here?"

Wilkinson gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, the usual shtick. Wanted to protect my world, see the universe, meet new and unusual life-forms and get to shoot them. Same old story and look where it got me. I served here for a few months before Bad Wolf turned up . . ."

Martha interrupted him before he could continue.

"I was wondering, why do you all call Rose "Bad Wolf"? You know she's called Rose"

"I know," Wilkinson nodded. "It's strange, when you think about it. When she first arrived, we all called her Rose. Not that I called anyone anything very nice at the time. I was a waster, depressed, just wanted to shoot everything in sight. Not exactly what you might call a team player. She came over and talked to me, when no one else would come near me. She didn't try to pity me, or make me snap out of it, or anything. She was just kind of . . . there."

Martha nodded, and Wilkinson continued. "I was all snarky and snippy to her. But it was like water off a ducks back –I guess she'd probably dealt with people like me before, now I think about it."

"You, gruff?" Martha looked at Wilkinson, and couldn't imagine him as anything but kind.

But he nodded. "Oh yeah. I was a mess. Only been here for a few months longer than Bad Wolf. I went from green-horn to Nova's punch bag, to seeing what Sinclair was really like.

"None of us could leave once he got the collars on us. He said it was to protect us from the effects of the rip engine…the truth hiding the lie. Oh, it protected us but made us his slaves in return."

Martha didn't know what to say to that. Instead of saying anything then, she laid her hand on his. He turned his palm up to link hands, thankful for the show of kindness.

"Rose never liked Sinclair, and she hadn't been in Torchwood long enough to know his sort. She followed orders, but she interfered in a punishment once too often.

When he . . ." Wilkinson almost seemed to choke on the word, but he made himself continue, "when he had her for the first time, I picked her up and took her to her room. Captain Harkness had been sent out on patrol, and wasn't back." a bitter look came into his eye. "The bastard Sinclair made damn sure of that. The Captain would have ripped Sinclair to pieces, with or without the collars.

"But I wrapped her up, as best I could. Got some whisky down her, kept calling her, and trying to get her to focus . . . and she shouted at me not to call her that. She said she as the Bad Wolf."

He shrugged. "I guess it sort of fit her. So that was my name for her from then on, and it stuck. The only person she liked to call her 'Rose' was the Captain. Anyone else tended to get the message sharpish."

By the look in Wilkinson's eye, Martha could imagine that, if Rose didn't explain the situation to the unfortunate green-horn, he or one of his men certainly would.

"Then she started to create her own squad, trying to do whatever she could to keep people safe from Sinclair and his filth. And chose me to be her second in command. I was so surprised… I guess I felt I had to clean myself up, to measure up, and make myself worth the trust she put in me."

"I think Rose just saw what you were like inside, what you used to be, and sanded down the rough edges," Martha grinned at Wilkinson shyly.

Wilkinson smiled back –an oddly tentative smile on such a confident man –when the were interrupted by a voice over the radio.

"Martha, Martha. Can you hear me?" said the voice that was unmistakably the Doctor. " Martha, will you pick up the phone?"

"We can hear you, Doctor," Wilkinson replied with a smile. "Good to hear a friendly voice.

"Friendly voice…you think I have a friendly voice? I don't know how I feel about that," Martha rolled her eyes _Here we go. Another voyage into the madness that is the Doctor's thought processes._

"I mean….what if I want a scary voice….or a sexy voice"

"_Get on with it pretty boy!"_ came a shout in the background over the radio. Whoever it was, Martha felt profoundly grateful.

"Unlike him, who has a sarky voice all the time…. Ow!" Martha heard the Doctor grumbling to someone before he spoke again. "Right anyway…think I have figured out a way to fix this but I need your help Wilkinson. I need you and your squad to get out to the generators, where I can tell you how to re-wire them"

"What's that going to do?" Martha asked.

"Oh hello Martha. You are there then. When you didn't answer, I thought you might have gone off on a wander."

Martha tried to keep her voice patient, the way she did for her less . . . adult patients.

"Doctor," she reminded him, "we all locked down in metal box the size of my gran's old flat. Where would I go?"

By the Doctor's abstract voice, he wasn' listening very hard. "I hear Barcelona's very good this time of year . . . but Wilkinson, if I'm right…which I usually am, by the way…it should induce a period of complete loss of molecular cohesion…."

"Doctor?" Martha prodded. "Simple terms for the non-Time Lords among us, please?"

"In baby-talk," both Terrans could hear the smile in their voice, "they should just turn to mush"

"**EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!**"

"Martha…Martha! What was that? Martha!"

But a crackle of static was his only reply . . .

TBC


	14. Chapter 14: The storms rage

KITG:Sorry for the wait on this. as you all know i started writing this before i knew how Martha was going to be played...after i saw season 3...i hate Martha. can't stand the woman. so it made writing her how i previously had been very hard as i kept see this stupid bitchy person insted of how i thought she would be played. Now of course alot oof you are saying "why not just kill her" i wouldn't be a very good auther if a solved my problems by suddenly killing off characters,

So extra long chapter for those who have been waiting. again sorry, i was devoting my time to Attack of the killer pigeons...then my will to write just sorta...died. but it seems to be back now.

Huge thanks again to my beta Emeryboard.

  
Chapter 14: The storms rage

"Martha! Martha!" the Doctor called down the COM in vain; trying to ignore the rigid stare he knew was burning into the back of his head. That had been the call of a Dalek, of that there was no doubt.

"What is that doing here? How can that thing be here?" his previous self snarled in his direction. The Doctor turned to see his leather clad self advancing on him.

"I don't know," he snapped at him as they came face to face.

"How is it here?" the storm blue eyes glared deeply into his brown, and he knew he was looking for some memories. He buried everything deep; he couldn't let his past self know anything of his future. He had to preserve the time line.

"I don't know!" his own storm met the blue, black rage hidden just beneath the surface to crash with the swirling blue undercurrents of guilt. Both were tinged with fire of a world lost. "We have to get back to the control room."

His brown coat billowed as he ran up to the control room once more to see Jack looking at one of the screens, even from here Jack's tense form told the terror he felt looking at the pepper pot on the screen.

"Why do they never die?" Jack whispered to him.

"I don't know…hang on…that's strange" The Doctor was now looking closely at this very white Dalek.

The white Dalek looked almost retro in its design. The gold nodules glinting off the florescent lights that lined the hallway. It looked alone and confused as it tried in vain to shoot the gaseous forms that coalesced for moments then disappeared as the Dalek beam lanced through them.

It was as if they were playing with the Dalek, tormenting it, trying to find a weakness in its adimantium shell. Blue shots rebounded down the hallways –if there had been sound on the camera feed you would have the snapping hiss of the beam firing . . . and over the top of it all would have been the Dalek's screams. It screamed for orders, it screamed for direction but there was no reply, no answers to its frantic requests.

"This is wrong, very wrong," the ninth Doctor whispered, voice laced with the dark inky blackness of horror and despair, "that's pre-time war."

"Exactly" the tenth Doctor confirmed.

"What exactly were you stupid little apes doing in this place?" nine snarled at Sinclair as he coward on the floor before them.

"They were experimenting with time bubble technology to stop the flow of time," Jack spoke up.

"What for?" ten asked.

"What for?" Sinclair laughed "_What for?"_ To live forever of course you fool!"

"Oh, of course!" nine replied sarcastically

"It's been ripped from time," you could see the idea blooming behind the tenth Doctor's eyes as he grabbed his hair as the thought continued to grow. "That's why you're here!" he pointed at his previous incarnation.

"So how do we fix this? We need to get your previous self back to his time line." Jack came forward to stand between the two Doctors.

"One problem at a time," the Tenth Doctor muttered as he walked over to the computer terminal. He pulled up the base schematics and told the computer to project a safe path to the hanger bay.

"There! Ah ha!" he exclaimed in glee "If we can get to the hanger, we can place this compound into the shield system. We can get rid of those gas creatures."

"So we're going duct crawling?" Jack smiled "Same old Doctor"

"Good old Jack." He turned to the scientist who had showed them to the sample "I need you to stay here. When I tell you I need you to power up the shield system. Can you do that for me?"

She gave a quick, nervous nod before going over to the shield control console. The Doctor then turned back to his younger self and Jack.

"Jack, is Sinclair secure?"

"He's not going anywhere" Jack replied as he gave a tight tug on Sinclair's arms, making the man grunt in pain.

"Then I need you to come with me and . . . well me," he pointed to his younger self, who rolled his eyes, "to the hanger"

"You got it."

They pulled the covering off the air duct system and one by one crawled inside. The two Doctor's were in the lead with the Tenth Doctor in the front while Jack brought up the rear.

As they crawled through the ducts, the metal making dull _"bungs"_ as it warped under their weight, they could hear the screams and sobbing of those that had found some relative safety. They continued onward in silence. Not wanting to alert the gas creatures to their position.

Finally after what seemed an age, the hatch to the hanger came into view.

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Martha stood with the other civilians in the hanger as Wilkinson and his men took up positions by the door. Outside they could hear the creature from before shouting and screaming. Then the sound of some kind of weapon being fired over and over, an almost electric, buzzing kind of sound as it fired.

"That's not the sound of a projectile gun sir," one of Wilkinson's men spoke.

"No, you're right. That's an energy weapon"

"What do we do sir?"

"Not much we can do. Coms" Wilkinson turned to his communications officer. "Any chatter?"

"Still nothing sir, something is blocking the signal"

"ARRRGH!" the guttural scream took on another tone, the tone of complete panic "CASING-IM-PAIRED! CASING-IM-PAIRED!"

The shooting of the energy weapon became more frequent as the shots increased. The screaming became gurgled and cracked until only silence remained. Suddenly a grill from the air duct and fell to the floor with a loud clang. This caused everyone in the room to jump out of their skins as the whirled round.

There, hanging out of the vent were a pair of blue pin stripe trousered legs with white sneakers. The trousers looked dusty and scuffed at the knees . . . the Doctor was stuck.

"Hurry up, pretty boy!"

"I'm trying! My coat is stuck!" Martha laughed. Trust the Doctor to get stuck. There was the sound of ripping fabric then the Doctor was almost thrown from the vent.

He jumped to his feet and began twirling round to see the back of his long brown coat. Behind him out of the vent came a strange man, he jumped down and was then followed by the form of Jack. Martha watched the newcomer closely. He seemed hurt in some way; all her doctors training screamed that this man was damaged somehow. His eyes locked on hers and she felt a chill travel down her spine.

"You ripped my jacket!" the strange man looked at her a moment more before looking at the Doctor.

"Got you out didn't it?" his tone was full of sarcasm.

"But did you have to rip it?" They were now in each other's face, eyes locked in some kind of battle. As if they were trying to impress those in the room.

"Oh stop whining!"

"Well what if I rip your jacket?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Guys! More important problems" Jack pushed them apart. "Martha! Wilkinson! Good to see you!"

"Doctor! So, what's the plan?" Martha gave him a quick hug then took a step back as Wilkinson came to stand with them.

"Destroy the gas nasties then look for Rose" Martha noticed the eyes of the stranger darkened at the mention of Rose. " But first things first. The shout we heard, has there been anything else?"

"A load of screaming and shots from some kind of energy weapon. Then something about its casing being impaired before it ended with more screaming. There has been nothing else for about a quarter of an hour. No shots, nothing"

"Hopefully that means it's been killed."

"We'll have to deal with the shell, Doc," Jack added to the conversation.

"In time. Now Wilkinson. Where is the link to all the shield generators?"

"This way Doctor," Wilkinson led the Doctor and the stranger to anther room. Martha walked up to Jack.

"Jack, who is that guy in the leather jacket?"

Jack seemed to start a moment before turning to answer her.

"He's um….a friend of the Doctor's. He's called John. John Smith. He's not very friendly to strangers, best stay out of his way."

"Are you sure he's a friend of the Doctors? He seemed awfully sarkey towards him."

"He's like that with everyone, not just the Doctor." Jack walked over to one of the trucks and retrieved a weapon from a hidden section near the petrol tank. It was a small silver gun, interspersed with glowing blue segments. It hummed as Jack powered it up. Then he reached in to pull out what look like an old service revolver.

"Friend of Bad Wolf?" a light voice trilled. Jack turned to see the Aseroth looking at him, standing before them all was Arokh.

Jack bobbed his head in a hasty bow. "Yes?"

"Is there any news of Bad Wolf or my father?" the red Aseroth asked, his silver eyes showing his concern.

"I'm sorry Arokh. I can't tell you anything more than that they jumped from the cliff."

"Then they are dead. To fall into those waters means death." The Aseroth began to trill a sad note.

"Don't give up hope, Arokh!" Jack implored the Aseroth. "Rose doesn't die so easy."

"I believe in the Bad Wolf" A small voice broke through the sad song. There stood a violet young Aseroth whom leaned against a brownish-green female. They must be mother and son. It had been the young one who had spoken. "She promised us that she would get us home. Bad Wolf will not break her promise"

"Rose never breaks her promises" the Doctor had come back from the generator room and walked up to the young Aseroth. He petted the young one briefly before turning to Jack.

"If this works it will make the creatures solid. I'll need your men Wilkinson to do the rest," he looked straight into Wilkinson's eyes. He felt as if the Doctor was looking straight into his soul and he had a sudden urge to prove himself worthy. Just like he had with Bad Wolf.

"Clean up is our speciality, you can count on us!"

"Once we have dealt with the ones inside the shield, we can deal with the rest," the Doctor continued.

"How?" a civilian asked.

"I set the shield to emit a wave of radiation, it will cause the creatures outside in their gas forms to dissipate like fog. Killing them."

"Why don't you do that for those inside the base as well? Instead of putting our men in danger?" seems the irate female from before had come round and had been listening to the conversation. There were murmurs of agreements to her question.

"Because the radiation would kill us as well." A northern accent replied and Martha looked to see John had come back into the room from the generator relay room. He was leaning against the door, arms folded against his chest in a defensive measure.

"Shall we?" the Doctor interrupted.

"Bad Wolf's team is ready" Wilkinson stood to attention and the others in his squad did the same.

"I'll stay here and make sure the shields don't fail." John stated then turned back into the relay room.

"I'll help Wilkinson" Jack cocked his gun with a smirk that had the Doctor rolling his eyes, The Doctor then walked up to the com unit.

"Science lady . . ."

"Science lady?" Martha asked.

"One of the lab technicians. She helped us," came the distracted reply as he continued to fiddle with the COM unit.

"And you didn't bother to ask her name?"

"I was a little busy at the time, Martha."

"Typical!" the Doctor shooed her away.

"Science lady?"

"I'm afraid she's not here right now," came the voice of Sinclair "I would take a message but it would be rather redundant as seen as she's dead!" he laughed as if he had said something amusing.

"Sinclair!" Jack roared, his voice filled with hatred.

"Ah my dear captain. Still breathing? What a shame, I will have to remedy that."

"What do you want, Sinclair?" The Doctor snarled down the COM, his voice dark and full of time.

"Why you, of course, Doctor. You!" there was a click as the COM was shut down.

"Damn him! If it's me he wants, then it's me he'll get," the Doctor growled out, he grabbed his long hair in frustration, making it stick up as all angles.

"You can't, Doctor!" Martha exclaimed, she pulled his hands from his hair to make him look here in the eye.

"Oh but I've got to. We need the shield on." He looked to his younger self. "D –um, John, you stay here and keep an eye on the shield relay. We don't want it to blow."

The younger Doctor just nodded, his arms still folded across his chest as he regarded the room.

"Be careful Doc" Jack clapped him on the back, but the movement was interrupted by a loud claxon going off, with a female voice speaking over it in a dull monotone.

"_Main perimeter failure. All personnel must evacuate immediately,"_ This was repeated over and over, the tone never changing as the recording continued, as if the droning voice would help you to remain calm.

"What does that mean?" Martha asked of Wilkinson.

"It means . . . the gas can get everywhere"

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Sinclair smirked as he turned off the COM unit. That would teach the Doctor to make a fool of him. He stepped over the body of the young woman, her face contorted in pain as the poison had killed her. Sinclair did not need the remote to make the collar inject people. All you needed to do was tamper with the collar just a little and it would inject automatically. It was a fail safe to stop the wearer from removing them.

The worthless female should never have betrayed him; she had no right to show the Doctor the samples Bad Wolf had collected. Now Sinclair moved to the base quarantine controls and turned off all fail-safes. This would enable the gas to roam where it like. It would do the job for him.

Behind him the lift pinged and he whirled round, it couldn't be the Doctor this soon. But as the door opened they revealed nothing on the other side…not even the lift car. Sinclair edge towards the open lift-shaft-doors with his weapon drawn and looked own. Below him the blue gas swirled and writhed as it slowly rose up the shaft. He could see it rising ever so slowly as if coming up from some dark depths. He stood transfixed as the flash of red eyes winked into existence then disappeared into the fog once more.

_"Join us"_

"Who said that?" He turned left and right, trying to find the source of this silky voice that was from many mouths. But all he could see were corpses.

"_Join us"_

Sinclair stepped back in terror, as it seemed the voice was coming from the dead that littered the hallway. Their sightless eyes looking straight at him, accusing him for all he had done. In his terror he misjudge how many steps back he had taken.. and stepped right into the darkness of the lift shaft. He gave a yell of fright as he fell a little way before he found a tenuous handhold.

Below him the gas came closer like a rising tide. He tried to get another handhold so he could pull himself up, but it was no use. He slipped again so now he was just holding on with one hand as the ledge began to crumble.

"Help!"

88888888888

The Doctor moved slowly through the air ducts towards the control tower. He could hear the rasping hiss as the creatures breached new areas, soon he would have no way out.

Eventually he came to the hatch as he crawled out he could see the hallway was now lined with corpses of the base staff. He could see the creatures had not killed them. There were no marks on the bodies, only the look of fear and pain on their faces as the poison had run through their system.

"Help!"

The Doctor stopped as the shout echoed down the corridor, he walked towards the where the shouting was coming from until he came to some open lift doors. The lift car was nowhere to be seen.

"Someone help me!" came the voice again and the Doctor almost snarled. He knew that voice.

"Why Sinclair. Got yourself in a spot of bother, I see." He leaned against the lift door as he looked down at Sinclair, voice as light and easy as if they were enjoying tea in a fine establishment.

The man was dangling over a 30 floor lift shaft, down below him was the blue gas. And if that wasn't bad enough, the ledge he was holing onto was crumbling away.

"Help me, Doctor!" Sinclair was getting frantic as his hands scrabbled for purchase.

"You ask me for help after what you have done?" In that moment, Sinclair looked up at the Doctor's face, and felt his blood freeze as he looked into the face of death –not a skeleton carrying a scythe. A Time Lord.

"Have mercy!"

"Oh I used to have so much mercy. So much forgiveness."

Death reached down and grasped Sinclair's hand.

Sinclair smiled as he realised he was saved. What a fool this Doctor was!

But the Doctor pulled him up so they were eye to eye and it suddenly became apparent that he wasn't being pulled to safety –just left to hover over the left shaft, with only the Doctor's grip keeping him from death.

"Doctor?"

"You know," the Doctor remarked conversationally, "I could forgive a lot. I could forgive your taste in interior decoration, your stupidity, your arrogance, even –on a very good day –your appalling social skills."

"Wha –" Sinclair tried to say, but the Doctor cut him off. All joviality fled from his voice until all that was left was the terrible blackness in his eyes.

"But what you did to Rose, I can't forgive." In that moment, his face was terrible to behold.

Sinclair's face paled in the instant the Doctor let go of his hand. "No second chances."

Time slowed as Sinclair fell, screaming into the blue gas. The Doctor watched as he disappeared from sight though not from sound, his screams became gurgles. What reached the bottom of the lift shaft….was just a mass of shredded flesh and bone.

"That was for Rose," he whispered before he continued to the control room. There on the floor was the body of the science lady. He kneeled down and closed her eyes. He looked to the nametag. _"Rachel Kinimoto"_

"I'm so sorry Rachel Kinimoto" He spoke to the room. He got up after a moment and walked to the COM.

"Jack? Jack can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. What took you so long? We thought we had lost you."

"I got . . . side tracked. I'm about to power up the shield. You lot ready?"

"Go for it, Doc!"

The Doctor reached for the controls. There was an answering hum as the shield powered up at his call. Suddenly, there was a high scream as the creatures were pulled into reality by force. All other life felt dizzy from the effects of the shield.

"Whoa! That's one dizzy trip, Feels like I've just stepped off the Tower of Terror," Jack spoke up over the COM.

"What the old one or the new one?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh the new one. You know the one with all the twist and turns . . . oh, and the anti-grav unit."

"On Walt Disney World the planet?"

"Yeah that's the one." The Doctor could hear Jack cocking a weapon as he spoke. "We're now about to move out. See you in a few Doc."

The fight had begun.

TBC….


End file.
